Wellness at Red Rock

Heart Healthy food

Food budgets may be shrinking but it doesn’t mean we have to give up healthy food.  What it does mean is that we need to get a lot more creative about preparing cost effective highly nutritious whole foods says Las Vegas resident and Living on Live Foods Certified Chef, Michele Comeau.  She will be covering a number of fast and easy tips to make whole foods even more nutritious . . . and yummy in Las Vegas on Saturday September 19, 2009 at Go Raw Café, Westside Location and Whole Foods Market Henderson, Thursday September 24, 2009.

Leading research shows that the health benefits are enormous for eating a plant-based diet.  Dr. T. Colin Campbell, professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University in his recent best-selling book, The China Study, says it all gets down to, “what we put in our mouths.”  Campbell lead the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted, what the New York Times called the “Grand Prix of Epidemiology.”

Michele who is currently studying with Campbell says researchers found that people who change to a plant-based, whole-food diet can reverse heart disease, reverse type 2 diabetes as well as reducing the risk of cancer and osteoporosis.  It is also a great way to slim down.  She is quick to say that we should always check with our doctor when making chances in our diet or exercise program.

“Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States for men and women,” reports Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, the author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. Dr. Esselstyn argues that conventional cardiology has failed patients by developing treatments that focus only on the symptoms of heart disease, not the cause. Based on the groundbreaking results of his 20-year nutritional study—the longest study of its kind ever conducted—he found, with irrefutable scientific evidence, how we can end the heart disease epidemic in this country forever by changing what we eat. Michele will be discussing those findings along with demonstrating quick and simple recipes.

Bottom Line is that simple, inexpensive dietary changes can make a world of difference as opposed to expensive and many times questionable pharmaceuticals says Michele.

Michele Comeau will be giving a free talk covering cost effective, nutrition solutions as well as demonstrating quick and simple recipes in Las Vegas:

Saturday September 19 from 2-4 pm at Go Raw Café, Westside Location.  Seating is limited for this free talk, please RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/RawLasVegas/

Thursday, September 24, 6:30 to 7:30 pm, Whole Foods Market Henderson  Please call 361- 8183 for more information and to reserve your place (seating is limited).

Resources from the Talk:

Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. This is the number one book I would recommend for a Heart Healthy Lifestyle.  Half the book contains yummy recipes that Dr, Esselstyn’s wife contributed.  Well worth the investment.  You can find his lecture on how to become “Heart Attack Proof” at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5215695644951404318#

Shoppers Guide to Pesticides: http://www.foodnews.org/ This is an absolute must!  You will want to print it out and carry it with you when you go shopping.

We talked a lot about nutrient dense fruits and veggies, you will find more information in the book, Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman MD.  You can also download info and a chart at: http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/article17.aspx

John Mackey the founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market says this is the first book he suggests people read when they make healthy changes to their diet. I agree, it covers the most comprehensive nutritional study ever conducted along with references to over 750 other peer reviewed studies.  The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD & Campbell II.   You will find a number of interviews with T. Collin Campbell at: http://www.plantbasednutrition.org/plant-based-nutrition/interviews/

If you are not sure you are getting enough nutrients check out the Cron-O-Meter designed to track daily diet calorie, vitamin, mineral, fat, and protein intakes free at:  http://spaz.ca/cronometer/

You may be thinking, OK I’m sold, so what do I do next?  The Free McDougall Dietary Program at: http://www.drmcdougall.com/free.html gives you everything you will need to know about improving your diet, along with recipes.  What a bargain, f you traveled to Santa Rosa CA and attended his excellent 10-day program it would cost over $5000.

Whole Foods Heart Healthy Challenge . . . Can you eat a diet of healthful, plant based, whole foods for under $200 a month?  Join the challenge at:  http://wellnessatredrock.com/

(Thoughts after the presentation) Sigh of relief!

When you stand in front of a group and suggest making MAJOR changes to what people have been eating, their whole life, you have to wonder what sort of reaction you are going to get.  The following comments tell me are on the right path:

“This presentation opened my eyes to new ways in bettering my life.”

“Most valuable was the information about the nutrient dense foods and recipe ideas.”

“Nutrition is VERY important to preventing heart disease.”

“Many things were new & opposite of what I’d heard-that olive oil is not good for you!”

“Emphasis on Plant Based Diet is what I liked best.”

The icing on the cake was this comment from well-respected wellness coach Vanessa Chamberlin Houssels:  “I thoroughly enjoyed Michele’s demo!  She is a seasoned pro with a command for the stage!  Her recipes tasted delicious . . . even my two young daughters gobbled up the tasty samples.  Job well done!

Many thanks to all!!!

Cantaloupes are in season and this is now my clients new favorite to start the day.  (Digests best first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.)  According to www.whfoods.com, cantaloupe is a superstar in vitamin C & A along with being high in a number of other beneficial nutrients.  By including the seeds (in a form that is easily bioavailable) it bumps up the nutrient density.

Serves 2

½ Cantaloupe

1 cup filtered water

4 ice cubes

Scoop seeds of the cantaloupe into a super blender (Vita Mix or Blend Tech) add 1-cup water and blend on high until seeds are completely liquefied.

Carefully remove the outer crinkly cantaloupe skin (OK to leave some of the green on) cut into large chunks and throw into the blender with ice cubes.

Blend just enough to make it smooth and the ice disappears.

Serve right away to maintain all the vitamins.

Enjoy!

  Inspiration for this recipe comes from the Go Raw Café in Las Vegas. 

http://www.gorawcafe.com

  My daughter fell in love with their “Garlic Stix” served on the side of her salad.  When we got home I threw this recipe together with what I had on hand in our pantry and it’s now a favorite.

Like the Stixs at Go Raw Cafe these crackers are; Live, Organic, Vegan, Gluten Free and Enzyme Rich.

1 ½ cup filtered water

2 Tbs fresh organic white onion

1 clove fresh organic garlic

2 heaped tsp of Costco’s Organic No-Salt Seasoning or 1 Tbl sea salt

4 cups sprouted organic buckwheat groats soaked and sprouted

1 cup freshly ground raw organic flax seeds

First soak the buckwheat for 6 hours in filtered water then strain and rinse in colander.  Rinse several times for the next 24 hours until you see a small tail emerge . . . about the length of the individual buckwheat.

In a super blender (like Vita Mix or Blend Tec) 1 ½ cups water, onion, garlic and seasoning or salt.   (Feel free to add any fresh herb you have in your garden.)  Add 3 cups sprouted buckwheat and liquefy.  Pour into a mixing bowl and mix in remaining cup of sprouted buckwheat then add the ground flax, mix well.

Spread on to a dehydrator tray with teflon sheet and let sit for a couple of minutes.  Score squares or long sticks before placing in dehydrator.  Dehydrate at 115 for 8 hours or until firm.  Turn over and remove teflyon sheet.  Dehydrate another 20 hours until crispy.

Stores great in the fridge for about a week (remember the healthy oil in the flax is very unstable) or in freezer for several months. 

Thanks to Lu at Go Raw Café for the inspiration and if you would like to try her yummy selection you can order at: http://store.gorawcafe.com/brandcr.html

What a gift it was hearing Dr. Neal Barnard speak this week in Auckland, New Zealand.  I’ve seen him on DVD several times and am familiar with his terrific work but nothing beats getting to see these nutritional heavy hitters in person.  

Brilliant presentation, lots of info, lots of laughs, easy to implement suggestions and ALL accomplished with in an hour.  Uplifting to see it done so well. 

First a bit about Neal Barnard, M.D.  He is a nutritional researcher, health advocate, and author of over a dozen books including The Power of Your Plate (1990), Food for Life (1993), Eat Right, Live Longer (1995), Foods That Fight Pain (1998), and The Reverse Diabetes Diet. (2007).

His peer reviewed clinical research looking at the effects of a low-fat vegan diet on diabetes is groundbreaking.  In fact his suggested diet shows greater improvements in lipid control in type 2 diabetic patients then a diet based on the American Diabetes Association’s guidelines.

The good news he gives is that you can reverse diabetes (along with many other medical problems) AND eat all you want if you simply follow a low fat diet by:

1) Going Vegan.  That means NO animal products . . . at all.  Animal products are both high in fat (yes, even skinless chicken) along with the fat being unhealthy saturated fat.

2) Going low fat also means no added oils and keeping seeds, nuts and avocados to a minimum.   Barnard explains that it’s the fat sitting inside our cells that interferes with insulin’s action.  His research shows that when you get rid of the fat inside the cells (through diet) you can reverse type 2 Diabetes.

3) Sticking with low glycaemic foods.  This is simply a measurement of how rapidly any given food releases sugar into the bloodstream.  Higher numbers indicates that sugar is absorbed quickly.  An example he gives is bread (white or whole wheat) is high because it release quickly (as a result of the air pockets created by the yeast) while whole-wheat pasta is slower to release.  To find more information on the glycaemic index go to: http://www.glycaemicindex.com/

Dr. Barnard gave three suggestions for beginning a healthy diet that make a lot of sense to me.

1) Spend the first week “shopping,” meaning check out and sample vegan food to find what you like so you have several dishes to choose from.  (Great source for recipes is:  http://www.pcrm.org/health/Recipes/)  

2) Commit to giving it a 3-week trial to experience the results.  He says most people can stick to it for three weeks and that is enough time for the benefits to kick in.

3) Most important, check with your Dr. because changes happen so fast that you may need to modify medications.

Dr. Barnard’s book The Reverse Diabetes Diet  lays out a very easy to follow plan and most important, answers any question you may have about following it.

The following is a modification of my favorite recipe from this book.

Broccoli Stir-Fry in Bean Sauce

This is quick, tasty, fiber-rich and packed with healthy phytonutrients.

1 teaspoon of finely chopped or grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

½ cup of cooked black or azuki beans

1 tablespoon of tamari (traditional soy sauce)

1 bunch of broccoli

1 large onion, cut into 6 wedges and layers separated

½ cup water

1 ½ teaspoon corn flour dissolved in 4 oz cold water.

Mash the ginger, garlic, beans and tamari together in a small bowl.

Divide the broccoli florets into bite-size pieces.  Peel and chop the stems into 1 cm (1/2 inch) pieces and stir-fry with onions and florets in water over high heat (4-5 minutes) until broccoli is crisp tender.  

Turn down heat and add ginger and corn flour mixture and stir until the sauce is thickened.  Serve immediately.

Makes 4 side servings or 2 mains.

Living Hummus 

Many thanks to Duncan Nash at Stop Theft in Auckland, New Zealand for complaining that my first posting of this recipe sounded WAY too hard.  Actually this dish is one of my all time favorites because it is so easy to make.  So here is the simplified version.

I love this dish because it gives a good shot of easy to digest protein & calcium, the healing power of garlic along with a healthy raw vegetable.  Most Hummus recipes call for tahini, or ground up sesame seeds made into a paste.  To get maximum nutrient value I prefer soaking raw unhusked sesame seeds and rinsing well to get rid of the enzyme inhibitors.  It also starts the sprouting process kicking up the nutrients the body can assimilate.

All my recipes are designed for a small food processor because I believe it’s important to eat fresh rather then storing leftovers in the frig.  (Again for maximum nutrients.)  If you are preparing for a large group simply double or triple the recipe and use a regular size processor.

Preparation:  Simply soak ½ cup of organic sesame seeds (I prefer the unhusked) 4 hours, rinse and drain in a colander.  They are now ready to use right away or any time that day.  (You will find they start going bitter if they sit for another day.)

In food processor:

I cup of raw organic cauliflower or zucchini (courgette)

Grind until fine

Add:

1/2 cup soaked and drained organic unhulled sesame seeds

3 Tbl filtered water

1 Tsp ground cumin

½ clove garlic

1 lime juiced (or 1/2 lemon juiced)

Salt to taste

Blend the heck out of it until smooth and thick and you can no longer see the sesame seeds.  If not easily blending just add a couple of Tbl of water.  Once blended taste, then add extra salt or lemon juice.

Recipe modified and adapted from: Matt Amsden’s, RAWvolution Gourmet Living Cuisine.

Carrot Pate (or Mock Salmon Pate)

This recipe is a brilliant source of essential Omega-3 Fatty Acids with the walnuts along with nutrient dense organic raw carrots, celery, and onions.  You will notice the recipe calls for soaked and dehydrated walnuts.  The soaking and rinsing gets rid of the enzyme inhibitors making the walnuts much more digestible. Dehydrating gets them back to a lovely crunchy state.  I make a habit of doing this when I purchase walnuts and then store them in the frig so we always have them on hand.  (Great for snacks.)

Organic celery is a must because research shows celery has one of the highest pesticide loads of all produce.  If organic celery is not available I simply take this dish off the menu. 

Since the Pate is brilliant served on celery sticks, I prepare the celery sticks first and then use the ends for the recipe.

½ medium carrot

1 stalk celery (or end cuts)

2 Tbl onion

Chop in small food processor until all chopped but not smooth. 

Add:

1/2 cup walnuts soaked 12 hours, rinsed well and dehydrated on low for 24 hours.

1/3 tsp sea salt

Raw hot pepper or powdered cayenne to taste

Chop in food processor until all chopped but not smooth.

Serve on celery sticks and cucumber slices.

Adapted from Alissa Cohen’s book “Living on Live Food”