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From now on, you should check out: www.bitchesloveproduce.com for my blog.
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Thursday, December 13, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
broccoli shrimp curry
Recipe time ladies and gents.
Chop up three cups of broccoli.
I've fallen in love with coconut cream lately. It's a bit like the full fat coconut milk cream that rises to the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk. It's great for curries.
Add 2 tablespoons of curry powder to the melted coconut cream.
Add 1/4 tsp salt and a dash of red pepper.
Add the broccoli and stir it up for a couple minutes.
Add in the shrimp/ Stir until cooked.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
-3 ounces frozen shrimp
-1/2 cup coconut cream (or full fat coconut milk)
-2 cups chopped broccoli
-2 tablespoons curry powder
-1/4 tsp red pepper
-1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
1. Melt the coconut cream in a pan over medium heat.
2. When it melts, add the spices.
3. When it starts to boil, add in the broccoli.
4. After three minutes, add in the shrimp. If it gets too dry, add in some water. It will just evaporate.
5. Enjoy.
Peace, love, and seasonal fruit,
/bitchesloveproduce
what to do with a leaky gut
Recently on Dr. Drew's show, he behaved like an immature asshole that doesn't know what he's talking about and completely condescended this woman when she clearly knew what she was talking about made some rather unfortunate remarks about leaky gut.
Seriously, we're not in the 1980's anymore. Leaky gut exists. When you have celiac disease or some other gastrointestinal disorder, your gut permeability increases, which leads to an autoimmune response, as your body interprets the food particles coming through as invaders. This leads to: chronic inflammation and increased risk of developing other autoimmune diseases, unnecessary food allergies, skin rashes and worsening dermatitis herpitiformis, if you've ever had the misfortune of having that, fatigue, and it's simple shitty.
I've had some very serious issues with leaky gut, so I'm going to share some of my tips to actually fix it. This is essentially a guide for those of you who have been gluten free for a while that still kinda feel shitty.
Elimination Diet
For one month, try to cut out the following foods:
-all grains (if you must have some grains, go for white rice, not brown rice!)
-eggs
-nuts and seeds
-nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, etc.)
-all soy products
-all beans and legumes
-all dairy, including ghee
-root vegetables, like carrots and beets
Just do it for a month, and slowly reintroduce things one by one.
Bone broth
Check out my blog post on bone broth.
Gelatin is one of the most calming proteins to your microvilli in your small intestine. It used to be used as medicine until medicine turned into the industry that it is today. I drink bone broth daily, and it's the only thing that helped me with my endless battle with DH.
Eat fatty cuts of meat
When you buy meat, don't eat boneless, skinless chicken breast. Your body was only made to eat 20-30% of calories from protein, and in the wild you wouldn't just eat the muscle meat. You would eat the fat, the skin, the organ meats. I would also recommend eating organ meats, but I recognize that growing up in westernized society, we're not used to the flavor or texture of organ meats.
Either way, if you're buying lean meats, add some fat. This will aid in digestion.
Proper food combining
Effectively, your goal should be to make your body have to do the least amount of work for the maximum amount of nutrition.
First off, eat fruit either half an hour before a meal or an hour and a half after your meal. I know fruit for dessert is tasty, but wait a bit. Fruit digests very quickly, so it gets backed up and ferments.
Seriously, we're not in the 1980's anymore. Leaky gut exists. When you have celiac disease or some other gastrointestinal disorder, your gut permeability increases, which leads to an autoimmune response, as your body interprets the food particles coming through as invaders. This leads to: chronic inflammation and increased risk of developing other autoimmune diseases, unnecessary food allergies, skin rashes and worsening dermatitis herpitiformis, if you've ever had the misfortune of having that, fatigue, and it's simple shitty.
I've had some very serious issues with leaky gut, so I'm going to share some of my tips to actually fix it. This is essentially a guide for those of you who have been gluten free for a while that still kinda feel shitty.
Elimination Diet
For one month, try to cut out the following foods:
-all grains (if you must have some grains, go for white rice, not brown rice!)
-eggs
-nuts and seeds
-nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, etc.)
-all soy products
-all beans and legumes
-all dairy, including ghee
-root vegetables, like carrots and beets
Just do it for a month, and slowly reintroduce things one by one.
Bone broth
Check out my blog post on bone broth.
Gelatin is one of the most calming proteins to your microvilli in your small intestine. It used to be used as medicine until medicine turned into the industry that it is today. I drink bone broth daily, and it's the only thing that helped me with my endless battle with DH.
Eat fatty cuts of meat
When you buy meat, don't eat boneless, skinless chicken breast. Your body was only made to eat 20-30% of calories from protein, and in the wild you wouldn't just eat the muscle meat. You would eat the fat, the skin, the organ meats. I would also recommend eating organ meats, but I recognize that growing up in westernized society, we're not used to the flavor or texture of organ meats.
Either way, if you're buying lean meats, add some fat. This will aid in digestion.
Proper food combining
Effectively, your goal should be to make your body have to do the least amount of work for the maximum amount of nutrition.
First off, eat fruit either half an hour before a meal or an hour and a half after your meal. I know fruit for dessert is tasty, but wait a bit. Fruit digests very quickly, so it gets backed up and ferments.
I wouldn't cut out fruit from your diet as it helps boost intestinal mobility and soluble fiber is easy on the digestive tract.
Eat vegetables with fat or cooked
As fond of raw produce as I am, I no longer eat vegetables without some kind of fat, be it avocado or olive oil or a fatty cut of meat. Think of the fat as a lubricant so to speak for your digestive tract. If you try eating a lot of raw vegetables, you are not going to heal your leaky gut, and you'll likely develop an oxolate sensitivity.
Some people with autoimmune conditions need to peel their produce and cook it thoroughly in order to digest it. While I love my huge salads and acknowledge that cooking removes some vital nutrients, you need to focus on healing your digestive tract because with leaky gut, you're only absorbing a fraction of your nutritional intake anyway.
Fish oil supplements
Omega-3's are highly anti-inflammatory, and leaky gut is largely caused by inflammation. You see my logic?
Also, there's lots of scientific data to support me. Just do it.
Buy a high quality one. You don't want to be taking mercury daily.
The big guns
If that doesn't work, I would highly recommend the gaps diet. I've had tremendous success with that. I've also heard good thing about the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD), but I've never personally tried it.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
bitches love produce in rutgers human ecology journal
Hello internet!
So, believe it or not, a lovely friend of mine who is an editor for the Rutgers Human Ecology journal, The EPIB Trail, decided to publish one of my more politically correct blog posts in her journal, "bitches love solubility tables."
Check it out, it's on page three:
click me! click me!
So, believe it or not, a lovely friend of mine who is an editor for the Rutgers Human Ecology journal, The EPIB Trail, decided to publish one of my more politically correct blog posts in her journal, "bitches love solubility tables."
Check it out, it's on page three:
click me! click me!
Sunday, December 2, 2012
grain free breakfast cereal
I wrote a post earlier today where I bashed oatmeal. I realize now that some of you may want an alternative. I rock out every morning with a savory breakfast, but I know some of you may not be down with that. This recipe is not as nutritious as many of my other recipes, but it is healthy, filling, and easy. You could probably even make a big batch in the crockpot.
According to cronometer, this cereal has 6.2 g protein, 11 g of fiber, and a 1:1 ratio of mega 3 to omega 6. If you eat 2 packets of low-sugar instant, you get 8 g of protein (but some of that is gluten ... ewww), 6 g of fiber (but it's not the good kind), and no fat whatsoever. I don't know about you and your nutrition goals, but I'll take the first one. I didn't even get into micronutrients at all here.
This is just as sweet and tasty as packaged oatmeal, but it doesn't have any added sugars, chemicals, you name it.
According to cronometer, this cereal has 6.2 g protein, 11 g of fiber, and a 1:1 ratio of mega 3 to omega 6. If you eat 2 packets of low-sugar instant, you get 8 g of protein (but some of that is gluten ... ewww), 6 g of fiber (but it's not the good kind), and no fat whatsoever. I don't know about you and your nutrition goals, but I'll take the first one. I didn't even get into micronutrients at all here.
This is just as sweet and tasty as packaged oatmeal, but it doesn't have any added sugars, chemicals, you name it.
Take an apple. Chop it into tiny pieces.
Put that apple in a saucepan and add 1/4 cup light coconut milk. If you really want to use the full-fat, that's totally rad, but it will have a stronger coconut flavor. I suppose if you don't like coconut milk, you could use another milk, but I like the lipid profile of coconut milk the most.
Put that saucepan on medium heat and get it to boil
Take a vanilla bean and cut open about 1/2 inch strip. Toss it whole into the pot. You can remove it later.
I guess you could use vanilla extract, but quality vanilla extract is normally made with grain alcohol, so even if it's "gluten free," it still contains traces of the amino acids in gluten, which can cause reactions in very sensitive individuals, such as myself.
Chia seeds are what make this cereal like. Chia seeds absorb whatever liquid they are in and make it into a pudding-like consistency, not unlike oatmeal. After your mixture has been boiling for 5 minutes, turn off the heat and add 1 tablespoon chia seeds. Let it sit for approximately 5 minutes.
I added half an ounce of almonds for some crunch.
Peace, love, and seasonal produce,
/bitchesloveproduce
how to like produce if you're not so sure you love produce
So I was talking to a friend of mine in NJ over Thanksgiving weekend, and we were talking about her human nutrition class at one of the best universities in the world (jk, just my alma mater). She knew she needed more protein and fiber, but wasn't sure how to do it. Protein's pretty easy. You just eat more meat. But, as far as fiber goes, she was told it would be a good idea to eat fiber-fortified oatmeal. I'll bash grains in another post, but right now, I want to talk about easy ways to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your life. I will state that grain fiber is not the same as fiber from vegetables, and can in fact be harmful to your digestive health.
Shortly after, another friend of mine who is Chinese told me she needs to figure out how to eat more American vegetables because the only Chinese vegetable available in Chicago is bok choy and she keeps eating it. She actually bought kale because of this blog! My heart. Melted.
Anyway, I felt the need to post about how to introduce more fruits and vegetables into your diet. You can slowly increase the produce content of your diet and slowly decrease grains and dairy, and your body will thank you.
Green Drank
Just about everyone loves fruit. If you don't, well you should find something you like because soluble fiber from fruits really helps digestive health. So, take your favorite fruits (orange, banana, mango, pineapple, berries, you name it), and blend it with a mild flavored green, like baby spinach.
Blending greens really brings out the oxolate flavor (call me crazy, but I swear I can taste oxolates), so I would refrain from using cruciferous greens like kale, even though they are amazing for you.
Kale chips
Take kale, cut it, mix it with a tablespoon of olive oil, bake it at 425 deg F for 25 minutes (or less, depending on your oven). Enjoy.
Yeah, these taste like chips, but they still are packed with easily digestible nutrition. Don't beat yourself up if you aren't ready for salads the size of your torso yet. In time, grasshopper.
Start small with salads and add lots of fruit
The only way you can make a salad bad for you is if you cover it with store-bought dressing. I use homemade dressing on all of my salads because (1) salads taste better with dressing, (2) adding some fat increases the bio-availability of a lot of nutrients, and (3) if you don't add dressing you're going to be hungry afterwards because you didn't eat enough calories. If you sit and eat a head of romaine lettuce with your bare hands, as I have been known to do on occasion, you are really only benefiting from the fiber, not from a lot of the nutrients.
Start with a mild-flavored green that you already know you like the taste of. Iceberg lettuce is actually highly underrated. Of course something like romaine or red-leaf lettuce or purple cabbage is better, but if you only like iceberg, it's better to eat that than oatmeal.
Chop up a piece of fruit and add it to your salad. It makes everything taste better. Some good ones: granny smith apples, strawberries, blackberries, mangoes, pineapple, orange, grapefruit, pears. I don't recommend dried fruit for anyone, but if you need it for flavor, it's not the end of the world.
Make a dressing. Some ideas: olive oil and vinegar, guacamole, paleo mayo mixed with some honey mustard. Just look stuff up. Also, you can blend any of those dressing ideas with a piece of fruit and voila, new salad dressing. Blend raspberries, olive oil, and vinegar, and you've got a raspberry vinaigrette.
Use cauliflower instead of rice
If you're a rice person, try ricing cauliflower in your food processor, and then steaming it. It's not going to taste like rice, but it is going to taste good. Another good substitute is jicima, but that isn't currently available where I live.
Buy a spiralizer and eat zucchini or squash instead of pasta
Does spiralized zucchini taste like pasta? No. But when you eat pasta you are craving one of two things: (1) the addictive quality of gluten grains or (2) whatever amazingly delicious sauce you are putting on top. I can't help you with number 1, but if you're topping your pasta with marinara sauce, just put it on zucchini pasta and you're golden.
Learn different ways to slice produce
This may sound weird, but if you slice the same vegetables differently, they really do taste different in the context of dishes. For example, spiralized carrots impart a different feel to a dish than grated carrots. Play around with different attachments to your food processor, or buy a mandolin with multiple blades, or just get fancy with your knife. And above all...
Don't let yourself get bored
Even I don't want to eat the same salad a few days in a row. You're going to reach for the oatmeal or pasta or other grain produce if you're bored. Check out some other blogs, get some good recipes, and try something new each day. This is probably the most important point I can make.
Peace, love, and seasonal produce,
/bitchesloveproduce
Shortly after, another friend of mine who is Chinese told me she needs to figure out how to eat more American vegetables because the only Chinese vegetable available in Chicago is bok choy and she keeps eating it. She actually bought kale because of this blog! My heart. Melted.
Anyway, I felt the need to post about how to introduce more fruits and vegetables into your diet. You can slowly increase the produce content of your diet and slowly decrease grains and dairy, and your body will thank you.
Green Drank
Just about everyone loves fruit. If you don't, well you should find something you like because soluble fiber from fruits really helps digestive health. So, take your favorite fruits (orange, banana, mango, pineapple, berries, you name it), and blend it with a mild flavored green, like baby spinach.
Blending greens really brings out the oxolate flavor (call me crazy, but I swear I can taste oxolates), so I would refrain from using cruciferous greens like kale, even though they are amazing for you.
Kale chips
Take kale, cut it, mix it with a tablespoon of olive oil, bake it at 425 deg F for 25 minutes (or less, depending on your oven). Enjoy.
Yeah, these taste like chips, but they still are packed with easily digestible nutrition. Don't beat yourself up if you aren't ready for salads the size of your torso yet. In time, grasshopper.
Start small with salads and add lots of fruit
The only way you can make a salad bad for you is if you cover it with store-bought dressing. I use homemade dressing on all of my salads because (1) salads taste better with dressing, (2) adding some fat increases the bio-availability of a lot of nutrients, and (3) if you don't add dressing you're going to be hungry afterwards because you didn't eat enough calories. If you sit and eat a head of romaine lettuce with your bare hands, as I have been known to do on occasion, you are really only benefiting from the fiber, not from a lot of the nutrients.
Start with a mild-flavored green that you already know you like the taste of. Iceberg lettuce is actually highly underrated. Of course something like romaine or red-leaf lettuce or purple cabbage is better, but if you only like iceberg, it's better to eat that than oatmeal.
Chop up a piece of fruit and add it to your salad. It makes everything taste better. Some good ones: granny smith apples, strawberries, blackberries, mangoes, pineapple, orange, grapefruit, pears. I don't recommend dried fruit for anyone, but if you need it for flavor, it's not the end of the world.
Make a dressing. Some ideas: olive oil and vinegar, guacamole, paleo mayo mixed with some honey mustard. Just look stuff up. Also, you can blend any of those dressing ideas with a piece of fruit and voila, new salad dressing. Blend raspberries, olive oil, and vinegar, and you've got a raspberry vinaigrette.
Use cauliflower instead of rice
If you're a rice person, try ricing cauliflower in your food processor, and then steaming it. It's not going to taste like rice, but it is going to taste good. Another good substitute is jicima, but that isn't currently available where I live.
Buy a spiralizer and eat zucchini or squash instead of pasta
Does spiralized zucchini taste like pasta? No. But when you eat pasta you are craving one of two things: (1) the addictive quality of gluten grains or (2) whatever amazingly delicious sauce you are putting on top. I can't help you with number 1, but if you're topping your pasta with marinara sauce, just put it on zucchini pasta and you're golden.
Learn different ways to slice produce
This may sound weird, but if you slice the same vegetables differently, they really do taste different in the context of dishes. For example, spiralized carrots impart a different feel to a dish than grated carrots. Play around with different attachments to your food processor, or buy a mandolin with multiple blades, or just get fancy with your knife. And above all...
Don't let yourself get bored
Even I don't want to eat the same salad a few days in a row. You're going to reach for the oatmeal or pasta or other grain produce if you're bored. Check out some other blogs, get some good recipes, and try something new each day. This is probably the most important point I can make.
Peace, love, and seasonal produce,
/bitchesloveproduce
Friday, November 30, 2012
i drink the blood of my enemies
AHHSHIT THIS POST ISN'T ABOUT PRODUCE.
Just look up "bone broth" on google, and you'll find a number of articles telling you why bone broth is the shit. It's easy, delicious, and so good for you.
I've personally noticed that when I drink bone broth, my DH is way better (DH stands for dermatitis herpitiformis, an autoimmune disorder related to celiac disease in which your skin gets all fucked up).
I went to my local grocer, and I buy bones. You can also use leftover bones from animals you've eaten and make bone broth from that too. These bones were specifically intended to make bone broth. It should be really cheap.
Just look up "bone broth" on google, and you'll find a number of articles telling you why bone broth is the shit. It's easy, delicious, and so good for you.
I've personally noticed that when I drink bone broth, my DH is way better (DH stands for dermatitis herpitiformis, an autoimmune disorder related to celiac disease in which your skin gets all fucked up).
I went to my local grocer, and I buy bones. You can also use leftover bones from animals you've eaten and make bone broth from that too. These bones were specifically intended to make bone broth. It should be really cheap.
Put the bones in a pot, and cover with water. Boil it for about an hour. Add salt to taste. You can also add fresh herbs, like rosemary or sage, and it will be delicious.
If you're using cooked bones, let's say in the case where you are using the bones from a whole chicken you've cooked, you can only really use the bones once. When you use raw bones, like I did above, you can use them twice because more marrow will come out the second time.
Mineral content varied based on the species of animal and diet of the animal. Organic, grass fed bones will provide better mineral content than conventional cow bones, but it's still good for you even if you're eating conventional animals.
I think it's kind of interesting how in American society, we're raised to think we should eat chicken soup and eat jello when we're sick. Gelatin was actually a remedy for leaky gut and a number of other illnesses before medicine became an industry of corporate greed. (I swear I'm not opinionated). Interestingly, gelatin is amazing for you, but Cambell's chicken soup certainly is lacking in gelatin, and I haven't even mentioned the shit they put in their products. Make your own damn broth!
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