Place quinoa and water in a pot and bring to a rolling boil. Allow to simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Note:  Tabouli is traditionally made with bulghur wheat.  This version is prepared with nutty tasting quinoa, a wheat and gluten free version. 

Mix pumpkin, spices, and stevia well with wire whisk.  Add eggs and whisk again until well mixed.  Add coconut milk and rice milk and mix well with whisk.  Pour into Pyrex custard cups.  Bake in 425 degrees preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake 40 minutes more or until a butter knife inserted in pumpkin comes out clean.

Makes 6 servings

Soak beans in 2 qts. water overnight. Add salt, cover and cook until tender—approximately 2 hrs. (Alternately, beans can be cooked overnight in a crockpot.) Sauté onions, green pepper, garlic, cumin and oregano in oil until tender. Add to beans and simmer 25 min. Stir in Vege-Sal and add more if needed. Top with cilantro just before serving.

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Add the potatoes, clams, clam juice, thyme and water, to cover. Bring to a boil, and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

* Can use clams and clam juice from 2 (1-pound) containers of frozen chopped clams in natural juice, thawed.

Nutrition Information

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving Calories 220
Total fat 7.5g Saturated fat 1.5g
Monounsaturated fat 4g Polyunsaturated fat 0.5g
Cholesterol 60.5mg Sodium 675mg
Carbohydrates 15g Protein 24g
Fiber 2.5g

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a small bowl, whisk eggs. Set aside.

Sauté the onions in the olive oil until slightly translucent. Add the potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes and sauté for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, if using. Add spinach (or swiss chard) and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer ingredients to a baking dish and pour eggs over top. Bake for 3-5 minutes until eggs are cooked.

Serve with fresh cilantro, avocado, a squeeze of lime, and salsa.

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/4 teaspoon good grey sea salt

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, finely grated with a microplane (or substitute 1 teaspoon jarred ginger puree, or ¼ teaspoon dried ground ginger)

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 whole boneless, skinless large chicken breast – halved
½ cup coconut flour or blanched almond flour, seasoned with salt and black pepper for dredging the chicken

an egg wash made by beating 1 large egg with 1 teaspoon water

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut (finer flakes are better than large flakes)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, ghee, or virgin coconut oil

2 tablespoons chicken broth

For the sauce

1 medium size red bell pepper, quick roasted – see my notes below

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice – you may like to add more

3 drops liquid stevia extract

cayenne to taste

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375F

For the sauce:  In a blender purée the roasted pepper with the lemon juice, stevia, cayenne, olive oil, and salt and black pepper to taste until the sauce is smooth.

Preparing the chicken:  In a small bowl whisk together the garlic/salt paste, the ginger, and the mustard and spread the mixture onto both sides of the chicken. In separate bowls have ready the seasoned flour, the egg wash, and the coconut.

Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess. Then dip it in the egg wash, letting the excess drip off, and coat it thoroughly with the unsweetened flaked coconut, pressing the coconut to make it adhere.

In a large ovenproof skillet (cast iron is great) heat the butter, ghee or coconut oil over moderately high heat for one minute, sauté the chicken for 2 minutes on each side, or until the coconut is golden. Add the chicken broth, transfer the skillet to a preheated 375°F. oven, and bake the chicken for 10 to 12 minutes, or until it is just cooked through. Divide the sauce between 2 large plates and arrange the chicken on it.

Great with steamed broccoli or seared spinach with garlic & lemon.
——————————————————————————–

Quick method for roasting peppers:

Cut the pepper in half. Scoop out seeds. Slice peppers into thin strips and arrange on a baking sheet lined with unbleached parchment paper. Roast in a pre-heated 350F oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until wilted and slightly dried out. Voila!

1 tablespoon safflower oil
4 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to season chicken
Freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup canned chopped tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth, low-sodium canned or homemade
1 bunch kale (about 1/2 pound), stemmed, leaves chopped
2 thick sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled & halved lengthwise and sliced into 3/4-inch half-moons
4 ounces fresh okra, trimmed, halved lengthwise
2 bay leaves
1 Scotch bonnet chile, pierced (omit if you prefer yours mild)
1/2 heaping teaspoon dried thyme
1⁄3 cup light coconut milk
8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled

Preparation
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Pat the chicken dry, and season with some salt and pepper. Add the chicken, smooth side down, to the pan and cook until brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add the onion and garlic to the pot, and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the allspice and tomatoes and cook until the juices are almost evaporated. Add the chicken broth, kale, sweet potatoes, okra, bay leaves, the 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, Scotch bonnet, and thyme. Bring the liquid to a boil, adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the sweet potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk and the shrimp and simmer until the shrimp turn pale pink and are firm but not tough and rubbery, about 2 minutes. Ladle the stew into warm bowls and serve.

Nutritional Analysis per serving
Calories 357
Fat 10 grams
Saturated Fat 2 grams
Carbohydrates 40 grams
Fiber 6 grams
Protein 30 grams

1 cup of brown rice
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and chopped
1 ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
Chopped almonds or walnuts
Almond milk

Place all ingredients except nuts in food processor. Pulse several times until all ingredients are smooth. Add a little almond milk if necessary to make mixture creamy. Place in bowls and top with nuts.

**This creamy mixture can also be frozen for a summer dessert.  Scoop into popsicle molds and freeze.

2 bunches watercress, stems removed
2 heads Belgium endive
1 head radicchio or 1/4 head red cabbage, finely shredded
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons crispy pine nuts (see below)
3/4 cup Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar

Wash and dry watercress. Remove outer leaves of endive and slice approximately 1/4 inch thick.  Mix with radicchio (or cabbage) and onion then toss with Dijon Dressing.  Divide into 4 servings and top with Crispy Pine Nuts.

Crispy Pine Nuts
Makes 1 cups

1 cup raw pine nuts
1 teaspoon sea salt
filtered water

Mix pine nuts with salt and filtered water and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours or overnight. Drain in a colander. Spread on a stainless steel baking pan and place in a warm oven (no more than 150 degrees) for 12 to 24 hours, turning occasionally, until completely dry and crisp. Store in an airtight container.

Dijon Dressing
Makes about 3/4 cup

1 teaspoon Dijon-type mustard, smooth or grainy
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon expeller-pressed flax oil
Dip fork into the jar of mustard and transfer about 1 teaspoon to a small bowl. Add vinegar and mix together. Add olive oil in a thin stream, stirring all the while with the fork, until oil is well mixed or emulsified. Add flax oil and use immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving:

Calories 24
Fat 1.5 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 75 mg

5 – Beet Salad
4 medium beets, cut into wedges and boiled until tender
Dressing:
¼ c. olive oil
¼ c. apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
¼ c parsley, chopped
1 small red or sweet onion, diced
Mix dressing ingredients together and toss beets in the dressing.  Serve over a bed of baby greens or baby spinach.
6 – Veggies and Hummus
Hummus is very simple to prepare, so I highly recommend making it yourself.  If you are buying an already prepared version, make sure it is made without vinegar and without sugar.
1 c. chickpeas (garbanzo beans), soaked overnight and cooked in 5 cups of water.  Cooking time is approx. 35 minutes.
1 heaping Tbsp of Tahini
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
Small pinch of cayenne
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  If the consistency is too thick, you can add a little water or vegetable broth to get the right creaminess.  Once you have the basics down, you can experiment with variations such as adding sundried tomatoes or black olives or cooked spinach.
7 – Cucumber Salad
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and shredded
¼ c cilantro, diced
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Dressing:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Black pepper
Toss the cucumber and cilantro with the dressing and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
8 – Vegetables Babaganoush
1 large eggplant
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp olive oil
¼ c fresh lemon juice
1 tsp paprika
¼ c fresh parsley, chopped
Poke the skin of the eggplant in several places with a fork then place in a baking dish.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for approx. 1 hour; should feel very soft inside.  Allow the eggplant to cool.  Peel off the skin and mash the inner flesh.  Place it is a strainer and allow the excess fluids to drain off or you can place it in cheese cloth and squeeze out the excess fluids.  Then put it in a bowl and mix in all the remaining ingredients.  Terrific served as a dip for vegetables or with Ryvita crackers or Mary’s Gone Crackers gluten free crackers.
9 – Celery and Apples with Almond Butter
Simple, healthy, and the kids can make it themselves!

10 – Fresh Vegetable Juice
Grab a freshly made green drink at your neighborhood juice bar.  My favorite cooling combo: cucumber, celery, parsley, spinach, kale and lemon.
Cool treats for the kids
For many kids, ice cream and popsicles seem to be synonymous with summertime.  Here are some healthier versions of their favorite treats.
11 – Watermelon Popsicles
From the juice bar, get a small juice with just cucumber and celery.  Place the juice in a blender or food processor with 2 cups of chunked seedless watermelon and blend just until slushy.  Scoop into popsicle containers and freeze.
12 – Banana Popsicles
Peel and cut 3 ripe bananas in half.  Insert a popsicle stick in each half.  Roll each banana in your favorite topping such as shredded coconut or crushed almond.  Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.

2 celery stalks, finely chopped
3 cups kale, finely chopped
3/4 cup barley, sprouted
2 Tbs cilantro, finely chopped
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp miso
4 cups water

Heat the water until starting to bubble but not breaking a full boil. Turn off heat and add all ingredients, except for the miso. Let steep for 10 minutes. After steeping, scoop 1-2 cups of the soup into a blender, add miso and blend.  Stir mixture back into the remaining soup.

ACTIVE TIME: 40 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes
EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

1 cup brown rice (left over is best or day old Quinoa)
1 cup vegetable broth
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons safflower oil
1-1 1/2 cups asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1/2 bunch)
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced into 1-inch pieces
4 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
4 teaspoons wheat free tamari
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Hot red pepper sauce, to taste

Combine rice and broth in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, 12 to 14 minutes. Spread the rice out on a large plate and let stand for 5 minutes.
While the rice is cooling, coat a skillet with a samll amount of safflower oil and place over medium heat. Pour in eggs and cook, stirring gently, until just set, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl.
Heat safflower oil in the pan over medium-high; add asparagus and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add bell pepper, scallions, garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until the vegetables are just tender, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked rice, soy sauce and vinegar to the pan; cook until the liquid is absorbed, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Fold in the cooked eggs. Remove from the heat; stir in sesame oil and hot sauce.
NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 364 calories; 14 g fat (2 g sat, 6 g mono); 212 g cholesterol; 46 g carbohydrate; 14 g protein; 6 g fiber; 675 mg sodium; 444 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (200% daily value), Vitamin A (70% do), Iron (20% do), Foliate (19% do). 3 Carbohydrate Servings Exchanges: 2 starch, 2 vegetable, 1 medium-fat meat, 1 1/2 fat

1 small fennel bulb (sometimes called anise)
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 small cabbage, cored and chopped (2 cups)
1 (2-inch) piece of rind cut from a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)
2 small yellow summer squash or zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium boiling potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf (not California)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
9 cups water
1 (10-oz) package frozen baby lima beans
1/2 lb haricots verts or other thin green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (15- to 19-oz) can cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
5 oz baby spinach (5 cups)

For pistou
3 large garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Cut fennel stalks flush with bulb, discarding them, and trim off any tough outer layers from bulb. Chop fennel into 1/2-inch pieces.  Heat oil in large soup pot.  Stir in fennel, onion, turnip, carrots, and cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is wilted, 5 to 7 minutes. Add cheese rind, squash, potato, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, salt, and water and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add lima beans, green beans, and cannellini and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Discard cheese rind, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf. Stir in spinach and season with salt and pepper.
Make pistou while soup is simmering:
Mince and mash garlic to a paste with salt (or pound with a mortar and pestle). Blend with basil in a food processor until basil is finely chopped. Add oil and cheese and purée.
Top servings with a spoonful of pistou, then stir.

8 eggs

2 Tbsp black tea

2 Tbsp wheat free tamari

Place the eggs in a small pot and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minute.  Remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon and rinse with cold water in a colander until just cool enough to handle.  Using the back of a metal spoon, lightly tap each egg shell to crack it all over.  Return the eggs to the pot of water and add the tea and tamari.  Bring water to a boil then reduce to a gentle simmer, steeping the eggs for 50 minutes.  Then remove the eggs from the water and allow to cool.  They can be peeled and served warm or cold.

1 pkg Brown Rice Noodles – spaghetti noodles
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
Fresh ginger, approx. 2 inch piece, minced
2 Tbsp wheat free tamari
1 tsp black pepper
6 – 8 cups your choice of seasonal vegetables – broccoli, snow peas, cauliflower, carrots, kale, snap peas, etc – washed and chopped
Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add brown rice noodles and boil 10 minutes then drain in a colander. Rinse in cold water and toss by hand with two table spoons of olive oil.
In a large soup pot, add safflower oil and sauté the green onions, white onion, and fresh ginger until almost brown.  Add wheat free tamari and black pepper.  Then add ½ gallon of good water and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add the vegetables.
Boil for two to three minute and serve over the noodles.  This can be served as is for a quick and easy lunch.  For a heartier dinner, try one of these variations: shrimp — add with vegetables and reduce heat when shrimp are pink or buffalo –  thinly slice buffalo  into small pieces and add after vegetables are in for a couple minutes and the allow meat to boil about 1-2 minutes and serve.

 6 large black dried mushrooms (shitake, maitake) soaked overnight

1 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp safflower oil

1/2 onion

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

2 Tbsp wheat-free tamari

pinch of black pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil in a large soup pot.  Add sea salt and soaked seaweed to the pot and boil for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse the seaweed with cold water.  In a saute pan, add the safflower oil, onion, ginger, tamari, and black pepper.  Brown the onion then turn off heat and add olive oil.  In a large vitamix  (2 quart), add 3 cups of water, seaweed, mushrooms, and sautéed ingredients.  Blend on high until pureed. Warm on stove top.

1 lb leafy green tops of daikon radish

1 lb large daikon radish

1 lb of carrots with their leafy green tops

6 extra large dried shiitake mushrooms (pre-soaked in water overnight)

1/2 lb Burdock root

1 lb of green vegetables, your choice or whatever you have in your garden — zucchini, chard, kale, brocolli, snow peas, snap peas, sugar snaps, etc

In a large soup pot, bring 1 1/2 gallons of water to a boil.  Wash all the vegetables very well but do not peel anything.  Chop everything into one inch pieces and add to the boiling water.   Boil on high heat, a rapid boil for 20 minutes.  Then cover and simmer for one hour.  After one hour, turn off heat and  leave on stove for twenty minute before drinking the broth.  Remove the vegetables and store the broth in a glass container in the refrigerator for up to three days.  Warm on stove top before consuming; never microwave.  Discard the cooked vegetables unless very sick, then put into a vita-mixer and puree for a juice.  This will keep in the refridgerator for up to 3 days; discard after 3 days.

Most of the ingredients for this soup are commonly available at natural foods stores.  They are also available at most Asian markets, such as Hai Mart (H-mart) at Yale and Havanna.

Wild Salmon in Teriyaki Sauce

serves 6

1 ½ lbs wild salmon, cut into 4 oz portions
1 Tbsp Safflower oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
2 Tbsp wheat-free tamari
2 Tbsp white wine
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 stalks green onion, diced
1/3 c cilantro, chopped

Combine the tamari, white wine, rice vinegar, green onion, and cilantro in a small bowl to make the teriyaki sauce and set aside.  Season the salmon on both sides with the salt and pepper.  Heat the safflower oil in a sauté pan on high heat and place salmon skin side down in the pan.  Cook skin side down for 2-3 minutes, then turn salmon over and cook on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes.  Add the sauce to the pan and return the heat to high.  Cover and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes longer.

Note: Safflower oil is the best for high heat cooking such as this recipe calls for.

Vegetable Medley in Oyster Sauce

serves 6
 Some of the vegetables in this recipe will be blanched prior to sautéing and should be kept separate from the others during preparation.  I have indicated the vegetables to be blanched with italics.  The vegetables that are indicated to be chopped should be kept in large bite size pieces — you don’t need to spend a lot of time on chopping.

1 Tbsp Safflower oil
Sea salt
2 c cauliflower, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 c broccoli, chopped
1 c snow peas
4-5 Bok choy stems, chopped
4-5 Bok Choy leaves, chopped
1 zucchini chopped
2 stalks green onions, diced
1 small white onion, diced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pkg of dried shiitake mushroom (rehydrate in a small bowl of warm water for 10 min. then drain the water off)
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp wheat-free tamari
1 tsp sesame oil
 
In a deep sauté pan, bring 2-3 qts of water to a boil.  Add safflower oil and a pinch of salt.  First add cauliflower to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes.  Add carrots and cook for 2 minutes.  Add remaining italicized vegetables and blanche for ½ to 1 minute.  Drain vegetables in a colander in the sink and return the emptied sauté pan to the burner.  There will probably still be plenty of oil in the pan, but if necessary you may add a small amount of safflower oil.  Add the white and green onion, ginger, and garlic and cooked for 4 minutes.  Next add the mushrooms, zucchini, and bok choy leaves and sauté for several more minutes.  Add the blanched vegetables from the colander.  Add the tamari, oyster sauce, and sesame oil and stir to lightly coat all the vegetables.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.  Be sure not to overcook; the vegetables should be crisp.

Seafood is a terrific protein source.  It is much lower in fats than other animal proteins and most of the fat from seafood is the healthy kind, unsaturated fats.  But it seems like you can’t talk about seafood these days without talking about PCBs and methylmercury. In some stores you’ll even find warning labels posted in the seafood departments.  Which leaves many of us asking “which fish are safest?” The answer is slightly different for methylmercury than it is for PCBs, so I’ll deal with them separately.

Mercury

Mercury contamination in seafood is unfortunately nothing new. As early as the 1930s, mercury contamination in seafood was identified as the cause of children being born with severe brain damage. It happened in a small fishing community: Minamata, Japan. Thousands of children were affected by industrial waste being dumped into the bay by Chisso, a plastics and pesticide manufacturer. So while the scientific community was well aware of the hazards of mercury, the world public remained ignorant. The US government did not issue its first advisory about mercury in seafood until 1994. It took another 5 years for congress to call for research on the subject to find out what constitutes a safe level and which fish should be avoided. The resulting report that was published a year later was vague and confusing, leaving a lot of guesswork to the consumer.

Let’s just get the bad news out of the way: All seafood contains methylmercury. We’ve been burning coal for power for quite some time now. Mercury is spewed into the atmosphere by the power plants, but it is heavy so it readily falls back to earth landing in lakes, rivers, soil, oceans…everywhere. Once in the water supply, microorganisms turn it into methylmercury. Then the little fish each the microscopic organisms and the bigger fish eat the little fish — and so on. Methylmercury accumulates in muscle tissue and big predatory fish eat lots of smaller fish, so they accumulate higher concentrations of methylmercury.

So here’s the skinny on methylmercury: Filter feeders and smaller fish have less; Big predatory fish have more.

Filter feeders and smaller fish include: sardines, herring, bay scallops, clams, mussels, Pacific cod, Dungeness crab, trout, striped bass

Avoid these: shark, swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel, albacore tuna, Chilean seabass, Groupers

There are many other fish that fall in the “eat only occasionally” category.  Refer to the fish lists at the end of this article for a more comprehensive listing.

PCBs

PCB, polychlorinated biphenyls, is a category of chemicals that includes some particularly nasty synthetic agricultural pesticides such as chlordane, dieldrin, and DDT. Many of these pesticides have been banned for years, but guess what – they’re still lingering in the environment. Just like methylmercury, the higher you go on the food chain, the higher the concentrations of PCBs. PCBs accumulate in fatty tissue, so the fattier the fish, the higher the concentration of PCBs. In general, farm-raised fish have higher levels of PCBs because they are fed fish meal made from larger fish that have been ground up. This reverses the order of the big fish eating the little fish.

General guidelines for minimizing PCB consumption: Choose Wild over farm-raised, select fish lower on the food chain(non-predatory fish), and choose leaner, less fatty fish.

Fatty Fish include: Orange roughy, swordfish, carp, fresh tuna, eel, so use caution with these.

So asking “which fish are the safest to eat?” is a really good question. But a better question to ask is “Why are PCBs and methymercury in our oceans and why is the problem getting worse?” You can attempt to follow the Fish Lists that advise which fish to enjoy and which to avoid, but if we don’t address the problems of coal-burning and conventional farming, eventually all fish will be on the “Avoid” list.

If you want clean fish, GET INVOLVED!

• Offset some or all your households energy usage with windpower.
• Speak with your dollar – Buy organic fruits and vegetables.
• Use the seafood guides to avoid fish that are high in contaminants or are not sustainably farmed
• Write to your senators and congressional representatives and tell them you want tougher emissions standards for coal-burning power plants.
• Write to your senators and congressional representatives and tell them you want stiffer penalties and stronger enforcement for industrial polluters.

For More Information:

www.mbayaq.org access printable pocket seafood guides

www.oceansalive.org

www.blueoceaninstitute.org

www.seafoodchoices.com this site does not offer any lists directly. It acts as a clearing house for numerous organizations.

www.seafoodwatch.org

www.epa.gov find out about advisory on lakes and rivers in your state

If you’re on your mobile phone, you can go to fishphone.org to find out about the dish you’re considering for dinner tonight

Check out Marion Nestle’s book What to Eat. It’s a fairly thick read, but the density of information is presented simply and straightforwardly. You’ll be the most informed consumer in the grocery store.

For more information on wind energy and other alternative energy sources, visit these web sites:

www.windenergy.info

www.myenergystar.com

www.newwindenergy.com

There are two other considerations when selecting produce: organics and seasonality.

Organics

You pay more for organics, so are they worth it? Researchers have sparred for years over whether organics are better for you. Are they more nutritious? Do they taste better? Maybe and Maybe. Organic farmers spend the bulk of their time making sure the soil is rich with nutrients and organic matter.  Healthy soil grows healthy plants.  The amount of minerals a vegetable contains directly relates to the quality of soil it was grown in.  Flavor is a favor of both the quality of the soil and the variety of the plant (genetics.)  But the true benefits of organics are in what they don’t have – no synthetic chemical residues. When you eat conventional produce you could be consuming as many as 55 different synthetic chemicals — from pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides, and other chemicals used in processing. If you want just a peach the way nature made it and nothing else, buy organic.

Are the chemicals sprayed on conventional produce harmful to your health? There’s a growing body of circumstantial evidence to suggest they are harmful, but that’s hard to answer definitively. Researchers have shown that these chemicals build up in the body over time and that people who eat conventional produce have significantly more of these chemical in their bodies. We also know that waste products from synthetic pesticides are showing up in our oceans and the seafood we eat. In the Central Valley near Fresno, California where a large portion of US produce is grown, farm workers and residents have statistically higher rates of several forms of cancer. However, proving that there is a direct correlation between pesticides and cancers would require researchers to control for a variety of lifestyle factors, dietary habits, and family history over decades – an impossible task. So if you are waiting for scientists and researchers to come to a consensus on that question, don’t hold your breath. The real question is “Are you willing to be one of the guinea pigs in this giant experiment called conventional farming?” If you asked the residents of Bhopal, India, they would tell you that agricultural pesticides are lethal. If you asked the residents of Minamata, Japan, they would tell you agricultural chemical wastes cause birth defects. No one is arguing that these chemicals are beneficial to your health, so you are doing yourself no harm in avoiding them. For me personally, if I ask “Is this safe?” and I’m met with resounding silence, I take that as a “No.”

Marketers and the media may be toting organics as a new trend, but organics are hardly new. Until fairly recently, all farming was organic; there were no chemical alternatives. DDT was invented in the 1940s along with several other pesticides. By the 1950s we knew the harmful effects of DDT. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was instrumental in bringing the truth about this deadly pesticide to the public forefront and eventually in getting it banned in the US. But the marriage between chemical engineering and farming would continue to grow stronger. Dozens of pesticides have followed since the 1950s. By the 1960s, what we now call “conventional” farming (farming with synthetic chemical pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers) had become the norm. Organic farming has been around for thousands of years. That makes conventional farming the new kid on the block. When you look at it that way, it seems ridiculous that a farm has to be certified to grow produce organically. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?  Shouldn’t you have to have permit to introduce synthetic chemicals into the food supply?

Seasonality

Seasonality is a far less controversial topic. It has everything on its side. When you buy fresh produce in season, the quality is better, the taste is superior, and the price is at its lowest. On the surface, seasonality is simple. It means buying produce in the season it was harvested — apples in autumn, citrus in winter, asparagus and lettuces in spring. Seasonality depends on your growing region. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to call the United States our growing region. But in today’s global economy, when you walk into a grocery store, you get the impression that everything is available all the time; you can get greenhouse grown tomatoes from Belgium and grapes from Chile and apples from New Zealand. I remember a situation that reminded me how out of touch we are with where our food comes from. I had a gentleman get very angry with me one Thanksgiving because the store I was working at didn’t have peaches in stock. I told him they weren’t in season but we would probably see them again around Christmas from Chile. He insisted I was grossly misinformed because his grandmother baked a fresh peach pie every Thanksgiving. She had died that year but he was going to continue the tradition. I debated for a split second whether to reveal his grandmother’s secret, but decided against it, felt too much like telling a child there’s no Santa Claus. I apologized for the inconvenience and wished him luck on his search.

So why wouldn’t you want grapes from Chile? After all, California grapes are not available year round. The short answer: Transportation. There are 2 factors in transportation – time and cost, and they are inversely proportional to each other. Time is not kind to harvested produce, so ideally you want to keep the amount of time from harvest to grocery store as short as possible. They are basically 3 modes of transportation for getting produce from the field to your local grocery store – boat (slow), airplane (fast), truck (in the middle.) Produce that has a longer travel time has to be harvested less ripe which is generally not good for flavor; additionally some produce is simply more fragile and doesn’t have that long of a shelf life. Tomatoes coming from Belgium by airplane have a short travel time but an expensive mode of travel. A boat is much more fuel efficient than a jet, but also a lot slower. Buying produce that is in-season somewhere else in the world and not in your growing region means you are either going to pay a lot more for it or the taste will be disappointing.

You also don’t want to buy produce from your growing region that is out-of-season. Apples are a great example. After the harvest, everything that did not go straight to market is put into either cold storage or long term storage. Cold storage is for the short term; it is refrigerated to preserve it until it goes to market. In long term storage of apples, apples are put in special storage rooms where oxygen is removed and replaced with carbon dioxide. This halts the ripening process. That is why you can still purchase Washington grown apples in March or even May. As you might have guessed, keeping these apples in stasis for months requires energy, which costs money, and that cost is passed onto the consumer. So in March you can buy the same apples that you purchased in October, but you’ll pay more for them and their flavor and some of their nutritional value will have declined.

Including a list of seasonal vegetables and fruits would be far too long, so here are some good resources for lists.

www.nrdc.org/health/foodmiles/ This is the Natural Resources Defense Council’s web site. I like this one because you can pull up lists specific to your state and the time of year.

www.cuesa.org/seasonality/charts/vegetable.php This is the website for the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture. This site provides the most extensive list of seasonal vegetables, as well as a separate one for fruits.

A vegetable stock is a great way to use the parts of vegetables that would otherwise be discarded.  So save those broccoli stems, beet greens, carrot tops, stems from chard or kale, parsley stems and even the husks from shelled peas, then set aside some time once a week to turn them into a nutritious stock.  Here’s a basic recipe to get you started, but it can be varied to utilize whatever you have on hand or whatever is in season.

 2 medium carrots

2-3 stalks of celery

1 small onion

1-2 medium zucchini

3-4 cloves of garlic

Add in up to 6 cups of vegatables of your choice.  All vegetables should be coarsely chopped.  Place all the vegetables in a large stock part and cover with 2 gallons of water.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a soft simmer.  Allow to simmer for approximately 3 hours.  The liquid should be reduced by about half, yielding 1 gallon of stock.  Discard the cooked vegetables.  You can use the stock immediately or freeze for later.

 For a tasty variation on this basic vegetable stock, add shiitake mushrooms, ginger and small amount of seaweed such as wakame.

1) Choose Whole Grains over processed grains. Whole grains still contain the chaff and the germ of the grain. These are the nutrient rich parts of a grain containing a wealth of vitamins and minerals. When a grain is processed, many nutrients are lost such as calcium, B6, iron, niacin, folic acid, fiber, protein, among others. At the same time, ounce for ounce processed grains have more calories. The federal government considered this a big public health issue given that 20% of the calories in the average American diet are coming from processed grains (meaning 20% of the average American diet has very little nutritional value.) Federal law now mandates that processed flour be enriched (adding nutrients back to a food) with iron, niacin, folic acid, riboflavin, and thiamin. Although the federal government recognized that many other nutrients were being lost thru processing grains, they didn’t require enrichment because they argued that you get plenty of these from the rest of your diet. That is true if you eat a diet rich in unprocessed foods such as fresh vegetables, fruits and grains. If you are not, you’re likely facing the dilemma of the average American diet: overfed and undernourished.

2) Choose foods higher in fiber. Whole grains are naturally higher in fiber than processed grains. Fiber isn’t just about “staying regular.” Fiber serves the very important function of slowing down the absorption of glucose into the blood stream and moderating blood sugar levels.

To understand this, we need a brief biochemistry lesson. Carbohydrates can be loosely divided into two categories: 1) sugars – small molecules that the body rapidly absorbs into the blood stream and 2) starches – very large complex and branched molecules that require considerable processing in the small intestine before they can be absorbed. Sugars create a rapid increase in blood sugar which in turn stimulates the pancreas to secrete large amounts of insulin. Insulin moves glucose (blood sugar) out of the blood and into the brain and muscles where it is used for energy. Starches take longer to digest and provide the body with a steadier and more even flow of energy.

We can measure how quickly glucose is absorbed from a food; it is called Glycemic Index. The scale goes from 0-100 with lower being better. Processed grains have a higher glycemic index, for example breads made with processed wheat range from 70-90 GI, while breads made with whole wheat are about 50 GI.

So what does all this mean? If you regularly eat foods high in sugar or processed grains, you can overload your pancreas. Your pancreas will produce too much insulin, blood sugar levels will plummet, muscle begins resisting taking in glucose, and the body begins to store the glucose as fat. The result is you gain weight and you still feel hungry because your blood sugar levels are on a roller coaster. You also put yourself at risk for Type 2 Diabetes, the fastest growing disease in the US. Limiting or avoiding sugars and processed grains is key to avoiding this unhealthy cycle.

3) Choose foods with no added sugars. We have already seen how processed grains affect your blood sugar levels, add sugar on top of that and you have a bad combo. Sugar can appear on a label in many forms: sugar, high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, maple sugar, dextrose, maltose, corn syrup solids, fructose, sucrose, dehydrated cane juice, can juice, can juice solids, glucose syrup, invert sugar….and that’s just to name a few. Be wary of fruit juice concentrates or “fruit juice sweetened.” These may have started with fruit juice, but they have been processed to remove everything until all that’s left is fruit flavored sugar.

The FDA has set Daily Values on nearly everything in food except sugar. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has petition the FDA repeatedly to set the upper limit for an adult at 40 grams/day. The FDA is lobbied heavily by the sugar industry and so far the FDA has refused to set a Daily Value for sugar. I challenge each of you to tally your daily intake of sugar and see where you fall. Statistics show that Americans get 30-40% of our daily sugar intake from beverages – soft drinks and fruit juices. For American children that number tops 50%! You could do a lot for your health by simply making your beverage of choice water.

Still not convinced?  How about modifying those leftovers into something a little more breakfast-y?  Here are some particularly adaptable leftovers…

Sweet  Potatoes

Take last night’s baked sweet potato and mash it Into your favorite hot cereal (like kashi or millet) Add a little cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice  f it’s too thick, add a little unsweetened soy or rice Milk and Enjoy!

Butternut or acorn squash work great too.

Or make a hash.  Chop sweet potatoes into a sauté Pan, add a handful of spinach (onions, bell peppers, Zucchini, etc.)  Serve with a poach or over-easy egg.

Vegetables – Any really…

Scramble 1 or 2 eggs with last night’s leftover Grilled asparagus (or zucchini, spinach, peppers… Etc.) Add a dash of your favorite seasoning, such as Italian seasoning or Fresh basil and garlic or Chipotle powder and cilantro For a vegan version, sub tofu (chop or crumble it) for the eggs.

Veg/Egg “Florentine”

Place a thick slice of tomato on a plate.  Topped with cooked chard (or any other greens) and a poached egg. Substitute kefir/Dijon mustard type sauce for hollandaise.

If hot cereal soothes your soul, try these:

Bob’s Red Mill brand – there’s over a dozen varieties to choose from, try the “Mighty Tasty GF Hot Cereal,” it’s gluten free and yummy.

Arrowhead Mills – also has a lot of varieties to choose from.  I especially like the “4 Grain with Flax.”

But leave out the butter and brown sugar.  Try some of these flavors instead:

Seeds – pumpkin and sunflowers are especially good
Spices – cinnamon, cardamom, and pumpkin pie spice convey a sweetness without the sugar
Nuts – almonds, pecans, or cashews
Herbs – Go for savory flavors, Basil or rosemary, perhaps with a little sundried tomato
Coconut – top your hot cereal with shredded coconut or add a little coconut milk
Some like it hot – diced jalapeno and pico de gallo or chipotle peppers (canned in sauce)

If you’re crunched for time…

1. Soups for Breakfast – Soups are fast.  They can be made ahead of time and can conveniently be consumed from your travel mug.  You’ll find several listed under the lunch recipes.
2. Rice cakes with almond butter
3. Chicken salad with Ryvita crackers, rice cakes, or Mary’s Gone Crackers – skip the coffee, skip the sweet stuff, you’ll get a bigger boost to your morning if you start with protein.
4. Finding cold cereals without added sugar could leave you reading labels in the aisles for hours.  These cold cereals have no added sugar.  Try them with unsweetened soy, rice or hemp milk: Arrowhead Mills, Shredded Wheat, Nature’s Path, Puffed Rice, Millet, Kamut, or Corn Weetabix, Erewhon’s Crispy Brown Rice, Uncle Sam’s Toasted Whole Wheat Flakes with Flax, Cascadian Farms’ Purely O’s and Multigrain Squares.

Or if you have plenty of time….

Frittata

• 3-4 small red potatoes, boiled and quartered
• 1 T Olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 c spinach or swiss chard, shredded
• Salt and Pepper. To taste
• 5 eggs
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Your favorite salsa or pico de gallo
• 1 lime quartered
• 1 avocado, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F.  In a small bowl, whisk eggs.  Set aside.

Saute the onions in the olive oil until slightly translucent.  Add the potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes and sauté for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, if using.  Add spinach and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.  Transfer ingredients to a baking dish and pour eggs over top.  Bake for 3-5 minutes until eggs are cooked.

Serve with fresh cilantro, avocado, a squeeze of lime, and salsa.

Drain off the water that the chickpeas soaked in overnight.  Place chickpeas in a pan with the 4 cups of cold water.  Cover and cook over medium heat for 1-1 ½ hours until tender.  Drain and set aside to cool.

In a separate pan, place millet and 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 25-30 minutes.  Almost all the water should be absorbed and the millet will be tender.

While the millet is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan.  Add the cabbage and cook over medium heat until softened.  Stir in the spice and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.  Add the vegetables and cook until tender.  Finally stir in the cooked chickpeas.

Serve over the millet.