Happy Healthy Long Life

Goodbye Larabars! Hello, Homemade Raw Chocolate Chia Energy Bars, Loaded with Omega-3s & Antioxidants

Raw Chocolate Chia Walnut Energy Bars

 

If you received this via email, click here for the web version that has all the photos & links.

The only food I really still miss on my Esselstyn-style diet is Larabars--those yummy fruit & nut bars that are so darn convenient when you need a portable quick hunger-quenching snack. 

Explanation: Nuts are not Esselstyn-friendly foods, except for walnuts, and only for those without heart disease.

My fave was Cashew Cookie, made with just cashews & dates--but when you look at the omega-6 content for cashews....it's sky high.  And since most Larabars weigh in at 190-240 calories, and have 10-14 grams of fat per bar, I'm postivie that cutting out my daily Larabar helped contribute to my new-found weight-loss--which by the way--I am loving.

But still...on days when I exercise a lot, or have to miss or delay a meal, it sure would be nice to have a convenient Larabar.

Even Dr. Esselstyn gives the go-ahead for eating walnuts if you don't have heart disease--in moderation of course.  Too bad, none of the Larabars are made with just walnuts.  The closest they come is a mix of almonds (the first nut ingredient) & walnuts in the Apple Pie Larabar.  So, that's why I've resorted to making  my own.

Here's how the nuts used in Larabars stack up by saturated fat, and omega-6:omega-3 ratios

Cashews:   12.5% saturated fat     117:1  omega-6 to omega-3 ratio

Almonds:     6.0% saturated fat   1800:1  omega-6 to omega-3 ratio

Walnuts:     8.0% saturated fat        4:1  omega-6 to omega-3 ratio  It's the Nut with the highest amount of omega-3s

Peanuts:     15.0% saturated fat   1659:1 omega-6 to omega-3 ratio

If you need a refresher about why we should care about Omega-3s & Omega-6s and their effect on health & disease, click here.

The ideal goal for our daily intake of omega-6s to omega-3s is: 1:1 or 2:1, but most experts would say that 4:1 is fantastic, considering that the typical Western diet is 17:1.

 

My New Favorite Fruit-Nut Energy Bar--The Homemade Raw Chocolate-Chia Bar

 

I found this recipe in the January 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times, and it was developed by Mary Margaret Chappell.  Chappell's bar uses blanched almonds, so I just subbed walnuts instead.

These bars have it all! 

• Heart healthy unsweetened unprocessed no-fat cocoa.  Cocoa powder has all the benefits of chocolate without the fat & calories.  It lowers inflammation, increases HDLs, and has the potential to slow or prevent atherosclerosis.  This comes from straight from a 2009 Spanish study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  Cocoa has more flavonoids than tea or red wine and it improves lipid profiles and insulin sensitivity, lowers blood pressure (click here), reduces platelet activity, and keeps the lining of blood vessels flexible and healthy.  Click here to read more about the benefits of cocoa. This recipe provides about 1/2 tablespoon of pure cooca in every bar--all that's needed to accrue the health benefits.
• Chia seeds, the omega-3 antioxidant powerhouse that is high in fiber, keeps your blood sugar steady, and decreases inflammation.  Click here and here to read more.  This recipe provides a heaping 1/2 tablespoon of chia per serving, which is about 1,370 mg. of omega-3s.
• Walnuts have the highest amount of omega-3s of all the nuts.  But it gets even better.  A recent study out of Yale published in Diabetes Care, February 2010 found that type-2 diabetics who ate walnuts for 8 weeks significantly improved their endothelial function (measured by the brachial artery test)--which is the flexibility of arteries--and an important measure of arterial health.  Too bad the study chose to use such a large amount of walnuts--2 ounces and 366 calories worth--equivalent to about 1/2 cup of walnuts!  Click here for the study.  This recipe provides a little less than 1/2 an ounce of walnuts per serving.
• Dates have one of the highest ORAC antioxidant rankings of any of the dried fruits--at 3895 for 1/4 cup.  This recipe provides about 2.5 tablespoons of dates per serving.
• Honestly, these bars are one of the best tasting bars I've eaten--and I can't wait for you try them yourselves.  The nuts, the chocolate, and crunch of the chia, combine to make something that's a cross between a chewy brownie & a Nestle's Crunch bar.
• Warning:  Allow yourself only one--and make sure it's on a day that you've really put in a hard work-out! It would be very easy to eat 3 of these at one time.
  

 

Raw Chocolate-Chia Energy Bars

 

Click here to view the recipe on one page, suitable for printing

Makes 10 bars

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups pitted dates (Warning:  pinch each date carefully to be sure the pit has been removed!  An errant pit will stop your food processor cold!)

1/3 cup raw usweetened (& undutched) cocoa powder

1/3 cup whole chia seeds, such as Salba (use the white ones--it looks prettier)

3/4 tsp vanilla extract, optional

1 cup raw walnut pieces

Oat flour for dusting

Preparation

1.  Place dates in bowl of food processor; puree until thick paste forms.  If the dates are on the dry side, you may need to add small amounts of warm water to moisten them up--and make it easier to mix in the other ingredients.  But, be careful to do this slowly, and not overdo it.

2.  Add cocoa powder, chia seeds, and vanilla, if using.  Pulse until all ingredients are combined.

3. Add walnuts; pulse until nuts are finely chopped and well distributed through date mixture.

4. Spread large sheet of wax paper on work surface, and dust with oat flour, if using

5.  Transfer date mixture to wax paper, and press mixture into 1/2 inch thich rectangle.  Wrap tightly with the waxed paper, and then with foil.  Chill overnight.

6.  Unwrap block, and cut into 10 bars.  Dust edges and sides with oat flour,  if using, to prevent sticking.  Wrap each bar in waxed paper & store in the refrigerator.

Nutritional Information, 1/10 of the recipe.

Nutrition Facts Healthy Librarian's Raw Chocolate-Chia Energy Bars
Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories	166
Total Fat	9.1g
Saturated Fat	1.1g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	1mg
Carbohydrate	22.4g
Dietary Fiber	4.6g
Sugars	15.4g
Protein	3.3g
Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0% Calcium    3% Iron 5%

Processing the Dates into a Thick Paste

Adding in the Chia Seed & Cocoa

 Mixing Up the Dates, Chia, Vanilla, & Cocoa

Adding the Walnuts into the Mix

Mixing it All Up - So Easy!

 

Forming the Mixture into a Rectangle

Voila!  10 Scrumptious Bars

http://www.bellplantation.com/products

 Packing Them Up to Store in the Fridge - Sprinkled with Oat Flour

 If anyone out there gives these bars a try, please let me know how they turn out for you!!

The No-fat Peanut Butter News Flash!  My friend Yaz emailed me on Wednesday to let me know she saw a Brand New Item at Trader Joe's: pure roasted peanut "flour" with nothing more than 100% roasted peanuts, for $3.49 a pound. 

She figured it could make peanut butter just as well as PB2 does, which costs $3.99 + shipping, for just 6.5 ounces--almost 4 times as much as TJ's peanut flour.  Plus, Trader Joe's product has no salt or sugar added to it--good for health--not so good for taste. 

Coincidently, right after Yaz' email I checked out Emily Malone's Front Burner blog--and lo and behold, she had just posted a taste test comparison matching PB2 with the "peanut butter" made with Trader's Joe's Peanut Flour.  Check it out here. 

I picked up a bag of the peanut flour last night on my way home from work, and my husband, the peanut butter maven--who swears by PB2--and yes, he had just ordered & received a dozen jars of it last week--offered to be my taste-tester later today!  I'll let you know if it's up to the PB maven's standards.

The PB Maven's (my husband) preliminary taste test results for TJ's peanut flour PB: "It's great!  Can't tell any difference."  I did add a tiny bit of salt, and a bit 'o honey.  Yum!

 

 

My Amateur Spin on Putting the Diet Puzzle Pieces Together - The Omega-6 and Omega-3 Face-Off in Health & Disease

"..if you understand that food energy causes transient inflammatory insults and omega-6s amplify that into chronic injury and omega-3s moderate it, then you can tell people that the take home message is:

• Eat more omega-3s
• Eat less omega-6s
• Eat fewer calories per meal and stop smoking.  That's it.

"Curiosity is the beginning of learning and understanding.  Keep on keepin' on."

-William Lands, PhD., a pioneer in the study of lipids, omega-3 fatty acids, and the effects of diet on disease, University of Michigan & NIH-

Click here if you received this post via email to get all the links and a video.

The more I think about it, diets are a little like religion.  Everyone thinks that theirs is the perfect one.   But there are many paths to the same destination. 

The Dalai Lama says, "The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual's own reason and critical analysis."   

And who am I to argue with the Dalai Lama.  I'm using my own (perhaps limited) reasoning and critical analysis skills (?) to traverse this diet jungle.

For 2 1/2 years I've been tweaking my diet.  I'm now ready for a little more fine-tuning & experimentation.  Anyone want to venture a guess where this is going?

• Dr. Colin Campbell's China Study motivated me to "mostly" ditch meat, chicken, fish, and dairy for 2 1/2 years.   Without even knowing it at the time--I was completely eliminating all long-chain omega-6s--the most inflammatory of the fatty acids.  Guess what?  These only come from animal products.  Who knew?
• Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease "challenge" got me to ditch all oils, nuts, and avocados, and to substantially increase my intake of greens, beans, vegetables, and fruit over the past 9 weeks.  Without knowing it at the time--I was drastically cutting out the biggest suppliers of the short chain omega-6s--the vegetable oils (yes, olive oil, too), Earth Balance margarine, the nuts, the fake soy products, most tofus & other soy delights, and even my beloved avocados.  Who knew?
• Evelyn Tribole, Susan Allport, Dr. Artemis Simopoulos, and Dr. William Lands have taught me the importance of substantially lowering the omega-6s in my diet, and increasing the omega-3s.  Down with fats & nuts.  Up with  greens, beans, berries, flax, chia---and maybe some reconsideration of wild cold-water fish--and a teaspoon or spritz or 2 of canola oil every now & then?  Turns out, wild salmon (canned included) and canola do not impair vascular function or nitric oxide production--and salmon actually improves it.
• Dr. Robert Vogel and Dr. Lawrence Rudel--two physician researchers well-respected by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn--led me to reconsider adding wild salmon back into my diet.  Their recent research points to the superiority of the kind of omega-3s (EPA & DHA) found in cold-water fish over the less-dependable plant-based omega-3s found in flax, chia, & greens.  OK, sure, I agree--algal omega-3 sources are just as good--but they are harder to find & they lack EPA.

From Vogel:  "In general, endothelium dependent vasodilation is reduced to the greatest extent by saturated fatty acids, especially of the long-chain variety  (omega-6s found in animal products). The oxidation of cooking oil, which occurs during its reuse, also increases its adverse effect. At the other end of the saturation spectrum, highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, such as DHA & EPA (six double bonds), found in fish oil, do not impair endothelial function when ingested in a single meal and improve endothelial function when given chronically.  Concordant with these observations is the finding that fatty acids inhibit inflammatory markers proportional to how many double bonds they contain.  Vogel, RA.  Eur Heart J  27:13-14, 2006,  "Eating: vascular biology & atherosclerosis.  A lot to chew on."

From Vogel's classic article:   "The postprandial effects of components of the Mediterranean diet on endothelial function."  J Am Coll Cardiol  36(5):1455-60, Nov. 1, 2000.   Conclusions:  "In terms of their effects on postprandial (after a meal) endothelial function, the beneficial components of the Mediterranean and Lyon Diet Heart Study diets appear to be the antioxidant-rich foods—vegetables, fruits, and their derivatives such as (balsamic) vinegar, and omega-3-rich fish and canola oils—not olive oil.  Canola oil may share some of the unique vasoprotective properties of other omega-3-rich oils, such as fish oil. Dietary fruits, vegetables, and their products appear to provide some protection against the direct impairment in endothelial function produced by high-fat foods, including olive oil."  Note: Vogel used canned salmon in his tests.

From Lawrence Rudel's hot-off-the-press article, "Dietary n-3 LCPUFA from fish oil but not alpha-linolenic acid-derived LCPUFA confers atheroprotection in mice"  51:1897-1905, August 21, 2010.  "Indeed, the paradox of the data presented here is that dietary ALA (the plant-based omega-3) does not provide a similar atheroprotection in spite of significant conversion into EPA and DHA over the course of atherosclerosis development."

This article certainly got my attention.  All the mice were able to convert ALA flax oil into EPA just perfectly, something humans can't always do reliably.  But, the big surprise was that the EPA they were able to convert from flax oil, even at high-doses, didn't protect the mice from atherosclerosis--while the fish-oil did.  And a couple months ago, Dr. Christopher Gardner of Stanford also found out that even in high-doses, flax oil didn't lower triglycerides (in human subjects) anywhere near as well as fish-oil did! 

This gives me one more good reason to reconsider adding wild salmon, and/or fish oil back into my diet.         

• Although omega-3 expert Dr. William Lands is certain that when one lowers their omega-6s substantially--by cutting out the worst offenders, like vegetable oils, nuts, fried foods, junk snack food, and grain-fed animal products--that the plant-based omega-3s will adequately convert to the inflammation-suppressing-disease-preventing EPA & DHA--but, I'm ready to give that delicious super-EPA/DHA wild salmon a try.  I like the insurance.  And I like wild salmon.

• Turns out, coho salmon and canned salmon are very lean, low in saturated fat, high in EPA & DHA , and have almost non-existent levels of toxins.  Unlike fish oil capsules, they're whole foods, so they also contain substantial amounts of D3, and a new-to-me-superstar anti-oxidant called astaxanthin. This beta-carotene is what gives wild salmon it's red-orange pigment. Farm-raised salmon has red dye.
• According to Brenda Davis, RD, the blood & tissue levels of EPA & DHA in vegetarians are about half of those of non-vegetarians.  Sometimes flax, bean, berries & greens might not be enough.  The only way to really know if your body has converted plant-based ALA into the workhorse omega-3s known as EPA/DHA is by having a HUFA finger prick test--and these are presently not widely available--or inexpensive. 

Here's what Davis  has to say about vegetarian's and omega 3s:  "When fish is eliminated from the diet, few direct sources of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids remain.  Therefore, vegetarians predominately rely on the conversion of the essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) from plants to supply EPA & DHA. 

Unfortunately, this process is commonly inefficient, as enzymes necessary for this conversion are easily disrupted.  High intakes of omega-6 fatty acids can have a profound effect on omega-3 fatty acid conversion, reducing it by as much as 40-50% (or more).  Conversion enzymes may not function as well in people with diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, or certain metabolic disorders."   

The best advice is to minimize the omega-6's, and maximize the omega-3's, if you want the most efficient conversion of plant-sourced omega-3s into EPA/DHA.  Recommendations for healthy vegetarians are to keep their ratios at 2:1 to 4:1, for optimal conversion of flax (and other ALA sources) into EPA & DHA.  Recent research, however, now recommends keeping that ratio to 1:1, but that's very difficult to do.

To read more on the Vegetarian's Challenge--Optimizing Essential Fatty Acid Status, by Brenda Davis, RD, click here. 

First Things First.  Why Should We Care About Increasing Our Omega-3s, and Lowering Our Omega-6s?

Two words:  Inflammation & disease.  Excess omega-6s (and excess calories) contribute to excess inflammation, which leads to--or plays a role in the following disease states:

• Blood vessel damage (omega-3s keep the blood vessels elastic & flexible)
• Heart attacks
• Strokes
• Blood clot formation (omega-3s keep the blood flowing smoothly)
• Abnormal heart rhythms (omega-3s help maintain a steady and slower heart beat)
• Asthma
• Arthritis--osteo & rheumatoid (omega-3s act as pain relievers by curbing inflammation)
• Bone Loss (omega-3s help increase calcium absorption & bone formation)  New to me.
• Cancers (particularly colorectal cancer & breast cancer)
• Bipolar disease
• Depression
• Mood disorders (omega-3s help make & regulate key chemicals that affect mood)
• Learning disorders  (omega-3s are necessary for brain development & brain cell communication)
• Vision disorders (omega-3s are critical for vision)
• Inflammatory bowel disorders
• Autoimmune diseases
• Omega-3s slow biological aging--and lengthen telomeres
  

Increasing omega-3s can contribute to the prevention or management of all of these.

For details on the effect of omega-3 to omega-6 ratios on specific diseases, read:  Omega-6/Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acid Ratio:  The Scientific Evidence.  edited by Artemis Simopoulos & Leslie G. Cleland.  New York: Karger, 2003.  (World Reviiew of Nutrition and DIetetics.  vol. 92)  

For an easy-to-read understanding of how the omega-3s & omega-6s affect disease & health, read Evelyn Tribole's The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet

"Meeting" Evelyn Tribole, Susan Allport, and Dr. William Lands

Susan Allport:  About two years ago I was "introduced" to Susan Allport, the science writer who wrote the eye-opening, Queen of Fats.  After reading one of my blog posts, she emailed me a diet-changing video, called, The Rat Race.  It would convince anyone to pump up their intake of omega-3, particularly the DHAs! 

It shows Dr. Norman Salem's rats in a maze experiment--a rat fed a diet rich in omega-3s is pitted against a rat fed a diet deficient in omega 3's.  If you've been reading this blog regularly, Susan Allport might sound familiar--I recently wrote about her month-long diet experiment eating foods high in omega-6s.  The subtle changes she experienced convinced her that even one month on a high omega-6 diet was bad for her health: weight gain, belly fat, and fatigue.  I know I've posted this video before--but it's a favorite of mine.

Evelyn Tribole:  Also, about two years ago, I received an email from California author, dietitian, and private practitioner, Evelyn Tribole.  Her 2007 book, The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet  further opened my eyes to the importance of lowering my intake of omega-6s, and increasing my intake of omega-3s.  I highly recommend her book, and her blog, Omega-6 Commentary & News.  Here's a good introduction by Tribole about how omega-6s negatively affect our health.

Dr. William Lands:  Both Susan & Evelyn had sought out Dr. William Lands when they wrote their books.  If you want to know all about how important omega-3s are to growth, development, and disease prevention--Lands is the man you seek out.

On July 8th of this year I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from Dr. Lands.  Turns out, he cc'd me, when he wrote a response to one of my blog readers--who had written him with questions after watching Bill's NIH lecture after I recommended it on my blog.  (if you can follow that connection)  Here's a link to Lands' lecture. 

And for the past 6 weeks I've had a back and forth mini-dialogue with Dr. Lands all about balancing omega-3s & 6s on a vegan no-oil diet.   I wanted to know what he thought about a vegan diet that nixed oils, nuts, & avocados.  Would he consider this to be an excellent model for curbing omega-6s and disease-prevention?  Would it provide sufficient omega-3s?  Needless to say, I was honored that he took the time to answer my questions, and I was enlightened by what I learned.  And no, he didn't give me a straight-forward answer to either of those questions.  He said you just have to "run the numbers" on his KIM2 software or by using a too-complicated-for-me mathematical formula--or measure your HUFAs (highly unsaturated fatty acids) via a finger prick test. 

• "The tissue is the issue."  It's all about how much omega-3 & omega-6 is saturated in your tissues.  The closer the ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s gets to 1:1 the lower the risk you have for a whole host of inflammatory diseases:  heart disease, stroke, autoimmune diseases, arthritis, psychiatric diseases, depression, asthma, eczema, and the list goes on.  Most Americans are at a 17:1 ratio.  But even when you start to get to a ratio of 4:1 you would see impressive improvements in disease prevention. 
• Omega-6s are rampant in our Western diet, and they compete for the same enzymes in our cells as do the omega-3s.  Since most of us eat far too few omega-3s, guess which omegas end up saturating our tissues?  The inflammatory omega-6s.  No use popping omega-3 pills if you aren't also lowering your omega-6 intake.
• Lower the intake of omega-6s & the body can properly convert plant-based omega-3s, into the powerful inflammation-suppressing-disease-preventing EPA & DHA.  According to Dr. Lands, "As you add more and more omega-6, the omega-3 is not very effective.  So do not be surprised, dear children, that there are a lot of articles in the literature saying that the short chain omega-3 (those are the plant version omega-3s found in greens, flax, chia, fruits, & most beans) are not very effective, because (these studies) are all done in the presence of a substantial excess of omega-6 (on people whose tissues are loaded with omega-6s).  The paradox is that, conversion is not effective when it's in the presence of omega-6, but by itself it's quite effective.
• "This puts together everything I've told you.  Let's lower the omega-6s.  You're eating like 17,000 milligrams a day.  What would happen if you just made it 4,000?  Now you're at a level where you have the protection that you want.  You can prevent disease.  It's as simple as that."
• Dr. Lands wouldn't tell me what he eats, even though nosy me asked.  He answered my question about diet with, "Never mind the diet details, my HUFA (hormone precursors) have about a 60% omega-3 to 40% omega-6 ratio.  That's pretty amazing, if you ask me.

He just turned 80 years old.  He's incredibly active, writing, researching, & lecturing.  One of the lipid researchers at my hospital tells me that he is the picture of health, fit, slim, an dedicated exerciser, and a role model.  I asked him if he knew what Bill ate.  He told me Lands eats a whole lot of fish!

• Lands covers all the bases, when it comes to diet.  Sure it's important to kick up the omega-3s, and lower the omega-6s substantially, but that's not enough for Dr. Lands.   We also wants us to eat less calories at every meal--to decrease the damage of oxidative stress.   And exercise is a crucial component to the whole package. 

Here's my summary of Lands' recommendations:

1.  Exercise
2.  Small, more frequent meals--less oxidative stress
3.  Less calories
4.  Emphasize beans, greens, squash, other veggies, fruit, wild fish, flax, seafood.
5.  Watch out for the "not-so-healthy" foods masquerading as good: like garbanzos, tofu, corn, hummus, nuts, peanut butter.  Who knew?
6.  Ditch the omega-6 oils/mayo, fast food, & junk food!

What foods are highest in omega-6s? Eat Less of These.

• Soybean, corn, cottonseed, safflower, sunflower, grapeseed, sesame, and peanut oils.  Even olive oil and walnut oil have substantial amounts of omega-6s.
• All nuts and seeds are high in omega-6s.  Peanuts & peanut butter are especially high.  Walnuts have the lowest amount with a 4:1 ratio of 6s to 3s.
• Margarines, mayonnaise (most are made with soybean or safflower oil, & eggs), and salad dressings (check the oil used--canola is rarely used)
• Grain-fed meat, poultry, fish, and eggs.
• French fries, fast-food restaurant fare, fried foods (beware the deep fat fryer that reuses oil), all processed snack/junk foods made with oils or sat fat, cakes, cookies, muffins, or crackers.  Read labels.  Unless you've made it yourself, it's probably suspect.
• Soybean & peanut based foods.  Yes, that includes edamame, soy burgers & hotdogs, & even regular tofu. Soy is over 40% fat.  (This made me think about that 2000 study correlating high tofu consumption with cognitive impairment.  Hmm.)
• An easy way to check the omega-6 & omega-3 content of most foods is through Nutrition Data. Look in the top right-hand corner search box.  Unfortunately, there isn't data on all foods, and the only way to know their omega content is through laboratory testing. 

Surprising sources of omega-6s. Even "healthy plant-based fare" may be high in omega-6s.  And fat-free doesn't me omega-6-free.   Who knew?

• Peanut butter, nuts, & seeds.  Walnuts are the lowest of the lot.
• Garbanzo beans aka chick peas have the highest amount of omega-6s of the beans.  1 cup=1178 mg of omega-6s, 45 mg of omega-3s.
• Fava beans  (an ingredient in falafel--it's moderate in n-6, but very low in n-3)
• Tahini
• Hummus (It has two offenders: garbanzo beans & tahini)
• Most processed faux meat soy products--oil + soy=oy!
• Most tofu, tempeh, edamame, & other soy products  (NaSoya low-fat firm tofu has far less omega-6.  Mori-Nu low-fat brands haven't yet been analyzed, nor has Soy Boy Low-fat Tempeh)
• Most whole grain products are higher in omega-6s (than beans, fruits & veggies) including:  quinoa, brown rice, corn, whole grain breads, & oatmeal.
• Avocados

But Don't Avoid Healthy Foods Just Because They Have Omega-6s. They're Still Important Foods--and we also need Omega-6s.

We need the omega-6s, too.  Just not as much as we're currently eating.  Be aware of the omega-6 content of the food you are eating, and balance them with a higher intake of omega-3s.  Cutting out oils, nuts, processed junk & fast food makes a huge dent in omega-6 intake.

What Else Can I Do to Kick Up My Omega-3 status?

• Eat lots & lots of fruits & vegetables  (greens & beans rock!)
• Reduce saturated fat
• Eliminate trans-fatty acids
• Eliminate hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils
• Maintain a healthy weight by getting enough exercise, and not taking in more calories than you need
• Try to eat a source of omega-3s at every meal--this could be greens or beans.
• If you absolutely must use an oil, stick to canola for cooking, and if you use flax oil, make sure that it's fresh & refrigerated--and use it "raw", not for cooking.
• Be aware that grain-fed animal products (meat, poultry, eggs, & dairy) are also high in omega-6s & this is the most damaging & inflammatory kind, arachidonic acid.

What's a good way to compare the omega-3 & omega-6 content of everyday foods?

• Get a copy of Evelyn Tribole's "The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet"
• Be sure to take a look at Dr. Bill Lands' recent handout that was distributed at the Morgan County, WV County Fair in August 2010.  It has excellent comparative charts of the omegas for all the food groups, sample menus from real people, demonstrating the best to the worst, in terms of reducing the risk for inflammation, depression & heart attacks.  It's also filled with sage advice on reducing the future risks of disease & provides an excellent overview of how our diet affects our health.  A critique of all the popular diet books is also included.  There's a lot of info packed into this excellent handout!
• Check out the omega-3 & omega-6 content of individual foods through the Nutrition Data website, I find it easier to understand that the USDA nutritional data database. 

Omega Definitions

1.  Short-chain omega-3 is the plant-based ALA (alpha linolenic acid) that needs to be converted in the body to make long-chain omega3 EPA and DHA--the inflammation-suppressing powerhouses.   This conversion is not always so reliable--and no one can guarantee how well it's working for you.

2.  Short-chain omega-6 can come from plants or animals.  It is easily converted into the most inflammatory-disease-producing fatty acid, arachidonic acid.  Not fair--plant-based omega-3 converts unreliably & short-chain omega-6 conversion in dependable!  The long-chain omega-6s come only from animal products, and they are a direct source of the inflammatory-disease-producing arachidonic acid.

3.  Omega-3s & Omega-6s "compete for enzymes and positions in cell membranes.  A high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio has been linked to many human diseases.  ... omega-6s are preferred in food processing: because omega-3s are easily oxidized, manufacturers remove them when possible to reduce rancidity and increase shelf life ...."  Susan Allport, The Queen of Fats.

I've tried hard to make sure that this information is correct--but, hey, I'm just a librarian, not a lipid researcher or a dietitian.  I'm certain I'll hear if I've misrepresented anything here--and I'll gladly make corrections on anything when it's fact-based & referenced to reliable sources.  I felt like I was writing a term paper as I put together this one.  Now for some lunch, & "La dolcezza di non fare niente!"  The Sweetness of Doing Nothing.

More from the Healthy Librarian's Plant-Based Kitchen Lab: The Restaurant Scene, Staying Fueled, PB2 the Nut Butter Substitute, and Chia Fresca for Omega-3s

Pajama Diaries by Terri Libenson

Life in My Kitchen.  Always Testing Out Something New.  And if Son #2 Likes It, It Has to Be Good

Click Here if You've received this via email.

Living the Plant-Based No-Oil Life in the Real World

The Restaurant Scene.  I'm not-yet-so-comfortable about asking for special orders, or asking waiters or chefs a lot of questions, but I sucked it up this week, and did what I needed to do.  This was a huge hurdle.  To me, a happy healthy long life is so wrapped up with breaking bread and sharing meals with family & fiends--I don't want to miss out on it.   So...if I want to continue to join my friends & family at restaurants occasionally, I've got to ask the restaurant staff the right questions.  I can't always say, "Hey, why don't you just come to my house.  I'll cook."

• Hippie Healthy Stir-Fries & Noodle or Rice Bowls.  Monday night, I was meeting a friend for dinner, and we tried out a local store-front healthy fast food joint near the university.  What could be better?  Homemade brown rice, fresh steamed veggies, a choice of 3 no-oil spicy sauces, topped with tofu.  Nothing fancy, but we sat outside and enjoyed the summer evening, and some hearty rib-sticking healthy fare.  And the price was right!
• Hip & Mod Mexican.  Friday night we met son #2 across town at a cool out-of-the-box Mexican restaurant in one of those old semi-gentrified neighborhoods.  I figured this was going to be a real challenge.  I could end up eating just steamed corn tortillas, salsa, beans, and a glass of wine--and that would have been just fine.  But I was in for a pleasant surprise.  If I wanted no-oil, vegan fare, our waiter told me my best choice was the grilled portobellos with sofrito, corn tortillas, and salsa verde.  No-oil, he promised!  The mustard crema was on the side, so I could just ignore it.  And I did.

It Tastes Much Better Than It Looks!  Grilled Portobellos Over Sofrito, with Corn Tortillas & Salsa Verde.  Hold the Mustard Crema, Please!

• My Big Mistake This Week.  Missing Breakfast, and Eating a Late Lunch.  After 27 years in our house we are FINALLY redoing our circa 1964 bathroom.  It all started on Wednesday--and I was home to "supervise" the demolition.  Right!  I thought my kitchen ceiling was going to come crashing down as the demo crew sledge-hammered out the old cast iron tub.  Breakfast got waylaid, and lunch was delayed until 1:00 pm.  Note to self:  Never do that again.  My fuel tank was running on empty.  To refuel I enjoyed this wrap for lunch. It did the trick in no time! 

Food tip of the week thanks to Mina:  Her suggestion--add broccoli slaw to wraps or salads!  Loved it and who would have thought?

Refueling with a 3 Bean All-American Chili, Sweet Potato, Broccoli Slaw, Spinach Wrap

 

Wrapped Up & Heated in a 450 Degree Oven for 10 Minutes--Crispy & Delicious

My new favorite wrap:  French Meadow Bakery Sprouted Grain Tortillas.  More pliable, and less dry than the Ezekiel brand.

Finding a Breakfast That Works for my Lab Rat Runner Husband

My niece Jamie clued me into a new product aimed at peanut butter lovers who don't want all the fat that's in peanut butter!  It's called PB2, and it's powdered defatted roasted peanuts that you mix-up with a tablespoon or two of water, and voila!  Instantly you have 2 tablespoons of peanut butter with just 1.5 grams of fat, and only 45 calories--sure it's almost 40% fat,  but compare that to the 190 calories, and 14 grams of fat (+2 grams of sat fat) for the real thing!  It's got less fat than heart-healthy cocoa--which has  25 calories & 1 gram of fat per tablespoon.  PB2 is made by Bell Plantation, click here for more info.  To get some--we had to order it--but it was quick & painless.  But I can't vouch for what the Esselstyn's would say about PB2. 

Believe me, this stuff is a very suitable peanut butter substitute--according to my nut butter aficionado husband--and niece, Jamie!  I'm not interested in imbibing, but PB2 is a huge boost for my husband who has given up his long-time-habit of morning almond butter on Ezekiel---too much fat.  And way too many omega-6s--as in 3802 mgs!  I can't vouch for the number of omega-6s in defatted PB2, but you can always sprinkle on some high omega-3 chia for good measure!  I'm planning to experiment with PB2 for spicy peanut noodles, and a homemade energy bar.

So where did Jamie hear about PB2?  On Emily Malone's Front Burner blog.  Check it out--she's a 29 year old culinary school trained chef who's cooking vegetarian lunches for the staff at an organic farm (I think--I don't exactly know her back story).  She's a vegetarian, a runner, who cares about healthy food, keeping fit, and she loves to experiment with food.  Her food photos are amazing.  She does use a bit of oil, & sometimes tiny amounts of cheese, eggs, or dairy---but hey, you can modify any recipe.  BTW, niece Jamie also recommends Chocolate PB2, made with cocoa.

Emily's PB2 & Jelly on Rice Cakes

Refreshing Lemony Chia Water for Omega-3s, Hydration, Protein, Fiber, & Feeling Full

Chia Water=1/2 squeezed lemon or lime + 1 TBS of Chia Seeds.  Shake Well & Shake Again!

Chia isn't a new story around this blog--but drinking Chia Water is!   What a great way to enjoy all the benefits of this nutritional powerhouse.  It's tasty, it has a great mouth feel, it will keep hunger at bay for about an hour longer than usual, it will energize your workouts, and it's like getting a slow IV drip of omega 3's. 

I've been taking it along to work and to work outs--instead of just plain old water.  My husband has followed suit.  And now son #2 is ready to try it out on the soccer field. Give it a try--and report back! My favorite brand is Salba--it's superior to common chia seeds.  Click here  to find out why it beats common chia.  Click here to find out why it beats flax.

"The Salba agronomic teams have invested the past 15 years researching Salba (Salvia hispanica L.).  During those 15 years, we found the perfect location, the perfect soil composition, the perfect climate, the perfect irrigation methods, the perfect crop life-span, and the perfect amount of sunlight. We perfected the art of Non-GMO selective breeding and studied each crop carefully.

Salba seeds are hand-picked, and only the seeds with the highest nutrient density are harvested and replanted. The result? Higher quantities of the quality nutrients you need and guaranteed consistency from crop to crop. When you choose Salba, you choose quality of life."

Tip:  Use a funnel, but be sure to pour out enough water from the bottle so that the funnel spout does not touch the water.  The seeds get a gelatinous coating as soon as they hit the water, and you don't want the funnel clogging up.  Add about 1 tablespoon to 25 ounces of water--and start shaking to keep the seeds separate.  Shake for about a minute.  And then shake the bottle before you take each sip, to suspend the chia in the water.  You'll quickly get the hang of it!

This ancient seed is the highest plant source of omega-3s, and it's also loaded with fiber (soluble & insoluble), antioxidants, protein, calcium, and a laundry list of other vitamins & minerals. 

If you've read Christopher McDougall's best-selling book, Born to Run, about the fit & healthy Tarahumara barefoot runners you know what a nutrition powerhouse the chia seed is.  McDougall likens chia water to "drinking a smoothie of wild salmon, spinach and human growth hormone".  Not at all sure about its human growth hormone similarities!

To learn more about all the benefits of drinking chia water,  click here for Christina Pirello's article about chia.   And a big thank you to reader M.L. for sending Pirello's article this way.  If the Tarahumara Indians sound familiar to you, it's because they are Dr. Esselstyn's poster children for zero heart disease--thanks to their plant-based diet of squash, corn, and beans.  Now I'm wondering how much a role chia has contributed to their stellar health.  That is until Western food made its way into their once hidden Copper Canyons--bringing along diabetes, obesity, & heart disease.

Excerpt about chia from McDougall's Born to Run:

"...after I satisfied my hunger and thirst with some iskiate, I at once felt new strength, and, to my own astonishment, climbed the great height without much effort.   After this I always found iskiate a friend in need, so strengthening and refreshing that I may almost claim it as a discovery."  (written by the great Norwegian explorer, Carl Lumholtz in the 1890's)

Months later, I'd (Chris McDougall) learn that iskiate is otherwise know as chia fresca--"Chilly chia."  It's brewed up by dissolving chia seed in water with a little sugar and a squirt of lime. 

In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach, and human growth hormone.

As tiny as those seeds are, they're superpacked with omega-3s, omega-6s protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, and antioxidants.

If you had to pick just one desert-island food, you couldn't do much better than chia, at least if you were interested in building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease; after a few months of the chia diet, you could probably swim home.

Chia was once so treasured, the Aztecs used to deliver it to their king in homage.  Aztec runners used to chomp chia seeds as they went into battle, and the Hopis fueled themselves on chia during their epic runs from Arizona to the Pacific Ocean.

Despite its liquid-gold status, chia is ridiculously easy to grow; if you own a Chia Pet, in fact, you're only a few steps away from your own batch of devil drink.

So there you have it!  This week's new additions to my adventures in healthy eating.

• No need to miss out on meeting friends & family at restaurants.  Call ahead, ask questions, find out what you can eat that's plant-based, and prepared without oil.  And bottom line:  The goal is getting together with friends & family.  Don't decline invitations.  Make it work.
• NEVER MISS A MEAL.  Carbs are our number one primary fuel supply--and our brain's only fuel supply is carbohydrate glucose.  Keep the fuel tank filled by eating something about every 3 hours.  Unrefined carbs provide a nice slow drip of fuel.  Besides, small meals create less oxidative stress.
• Nut butter lovers might consider PB2 as a serious stand-in.
• Chia Fresca--for a daily omega-3 energizing drink!   And try chia seeds sprinkled on the higher omega-6 carbs, like oatmeal or rice to balance out their omega-6 content.  It's like eating mini-sesame seeds--great texture--no taste.

Final Week on the Esselstyn Plant-Based No-Added Oil Diet Trial. What's Changed? What Have I Learned? Tips and This Week's Favorite Recipes

Last Week's Bounty of Organic Amish-Grown Vegetables from Our CSA

If you've received this via email, click here to get to the web version with photos & links.

Yesterday marked the end of week four on my Esselstyn Plant-Based No-Added-Oil Diet "trial" and tomorrow I'll have my pesky lipids tested.  Hmm.  The results should be interesting. 

Whichever way it goes, I'm grateful for the opportunity the Esselstyn's gave me to participate in their small group day-long orientation session--and for their patient answers to my many questions.

What changes have I noticed?

• Loss of those 5 "stubborn pounds" that have just stuck with me for years in spite of exercise and healthy eating.
• Steady lowered blood pressure, all in the normal range.  Not always this low--but it's consistently in the under 120 range.

• I've got energy to spare and not a clue where this extra energy is coming from.  Example: Last Thursday I was up at 5:30 am.  I had to pack my lunch, dinner, my Green Smoothie, my gym bag, and my work clothes, because I wasn't going to get home until after 9:00 pm.  Out of the house at 7:00 am for a dental appointment.  At the gym at 8:00 am for 1 hour of weights, a 1/2 hour walk outside, 1 hour spinning class, followed by a 1 hour yoga class!  Never did that before!  I work late on Thursdays, and usually take a spinning & yoga class before work--but, because of that "darn early morning dental appointment" I suddenly had 1 1/2 hours of extra time & unfortunately, I was "stuck"  a half-hour away from home, but 5 minutes away from the J (my gym).  Made it to work at noon--and finally got home at 9:20 pm.  Got to bed around 11:15 pm!  Felt terrific.
• Craving for fat, as in olive/canola oil, nuts, or chocolate--looks like it's history!  Dr. Esselstyn says it takes 90 days to down-regulate the fat receptors in the brain--and I'm wondering if part of the reason he's so strict about eliminating even walnuts & avocados is partly to facilitate the loss of the fat craving. 

Now that I'm cooking without oil, and carefully looking at labels for no-added fat, my typical day's intake of fat is clocking in at just under 10%.  Before my Esselstyn trial, I was eating plant-based, but my daily fat intake was over 25%, the saturated fat intake was over 5%, and the sodium intake was over 2500 mg.  Sure, I was getting plenty of vitamins, minerals, and fiber--but my fat & salt intake was over the top, and I wasn't even noticing!

"About a decade ago, the Monell Chemical Census Center in Philadelphia tested the effects the consumption of fat has on our desire for it.  In the Monell experiment, healthy volunteers were separated into three groups.

One group continued eating a typically high-fat American diet.  The second group ate a diet in which fat was reduced to 20% of total calories.  In the third group's diet, the fat level was held to 15% or less.  At the end of twelve weeks, the first two groups craved fat just as much as ever. 

But those who had eaten less than 15% dietary fat over the period had completely  lost their desire for fat."  Esselstyn. Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease, 2007.  pg. 115.

• I eat whenever I'm hungry, whatever I want, as long as it's whole grains, legumes, vegetables, or fruit.  I've learned to refuel right after I exercise, and I make sure that I eat before I get too hungry--about every 3 hours.  I'm prepared wherever I go. Example:  Last Saturday I had my usual morning steel-cut oats & fruit breakfast around 8:00 am.   It was a gorgeous day and my friend Bonnie & I decided to take a 2 hour long hike on the trails in the woods near us.  We were meeting around 11, and I wasn't really hungry yet, nor was it time for lunch.  Hmm.  What to do?  I took out about 1/4 of an already cooked sweet potato, topped it with some of Mina's Spicy black beans & rice, and fueled up before our hike.  My energy never tanked a bit!  In this warm weather, when I'm on the go, I make sure I pack up my Green Smoothie, maybe a sandwich, some fruit, or even an Ezekiel English muffin in an insulated lunch pack with plastic ice packs.  Having a small snack after I exercise makes a huge difference in my energy, and how I feel.  I sip my Green Smoothie in the afternoon when I'm at work, or as a snack while I work on this blog.

Fueling Up with a Pre-Hike Snack of Sweet Potatoes, Mina's Spicy Rice & Black Beans, Just Like the Tarahumara Indians

Saturday Morning Hike in the Woods Catching Up on All the News with Bonnie

• On Sunday mornings it's time for a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's run to stock up on our favorite healthy foods.  As long as I plan ahead and make sure there is always something good to eat in my fridge & pantry this style of eating is easy.   I'm a steel-cut oats fan, so that's always in my pantry, along with some dried apples, and pumpkin pie seasoning.  My husband likes Ezekiel brand cereal for breakfast, and often for an after-dinner snack.  Kale, collards, or chard are always in my shopping cart, and although I'm not much of snacker, my husband is.  He's a fan of the Wasa Light Rye crackers, RealFoods Corn Thins, and I just tried a new brand from Norway, Kavli 5 Grain.  We both LOVE Ezekiel brand English muffins for sandwiches, or even to round out a meal of soup or salad.  The giant Lavash bread in the picture is a "pizza crust" suggestion courtesy of Ann Esselstyn.  It's 100% stone ground whole wheat, comes from the Middle East Bakery in Beltsville, MD, and is available at Whole Foods.  She pre-bakes the lavash in a hot oven until it's crisp, and then adds the pizza sauce & toppings, before popping it back in the oven to bake.  She promises it makes an easy delicious thin-crust pizza!   Always in my cart:  Whole Foods no-salt beans, Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomatoes (now they have no-salt), Bob's Red Mill flax meal or Salba chia seeds, low-salt Pacific brand Veggie Broth, my new fave Pacific brand Oat Milk (works as a coffee creamer!), or my old fave Pacific brand Hazelnut Milk, low-fat NaSoya tofu, and low-fat Soy Boy Tempeh.  Check out my Trader Joe's convenience food:  already peeled & cut sweet potato fries!  What a time saver!

Sunday Morning Whole Foods & Trader Joe's Run.  Check-out the Sweet Potato Spears

• My idea of a snack has been drastically altered!  Instead of chips, I'd rather eat some left-over spicy oven-fried Yukon Gold or sweet potato fries.  Or 1/2 a cup of plain soy yogurt with thawed frozen berries.  Or a beet.  Now that is crazy!  Or a Wasa Cracker and baby carrots with Sahara roasted red pepper hummus.  Or watermelon, peaches, apricots, and cherries.

This Week's Favorite Foods

 

The Healthy Librarian's Adaptation of Martha Rose Shulman's Curried Brown Rice and Wheatberry Salad

 

Martha's Much Prettier Photo of Curried Brown Rice and Wheatberry Salad

When I saw Martha Rose Shulman's recipe in the New York Times last week, somehow I missed that her dressing contained 3 tablespoons of olive oil, almonds, and 1/3 cup yogurt.  Oops!  I had everything already prepped, so I had to quickly reconfigure.  This recipe has it all, whole grains, beans, and plenty of phytonutrients from the red pepper, broccoli, and turmeric.  And it tastes great.  A perfect summer dinner dish.  Use Trader Joe's or Rice Expressions frozen already cooked brown rice, and cook the wheatberries the night before!  For Martha's original recipe click here. 

Serves Six

The Salad

2 cups, tightly packed, cooked brown rice

2 cups, tightly packed, cooked spelt or wheatberries

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas

1/4 cup chopped chives (I didn't have these)  I substituted chopped fresh basil from the CSA. 

1 red pepper, diced

1 broccoli crown, broken into small florets and steamed for four minutes

1/4 cup raisins

The Dressing

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 to 2 tsp. curry powder

A pinch or two of  turmeric

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. chili powder

Salt to taste

2 small garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons high quality balsamic vinegar---I used Olive Tap tangerine balsamic

1/2 cup of plain soy yogurt (this is hard to find--I used Whole Soy & Co. found at Whole Foods)

Note:  If you need extra dressing (& I did), mix up some extra yogurt, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, & curry.  Mix well & check seasoning before adding.

Advance Preparation:  The grains freeze well and will keep for 3 or 4 days in the fridge.  Steamed broccoli will keep for 2 to 3 days in the fridge. 

My What's in the Refrigerator for Lunch Salad

Rinse mesclun greens

Pick 5 cherry tomatoes from the patio, and slice

Thaw some Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn

A few large spoonfuls of left-over homemade oil-less Inca Quinoa Salad  click here for the unmodified recipe from Food Blogga.  I made Susan's version without oil, by sauteing the veggies in a little veggie broth, increasing the lime juice, and adding some of my trusty Olive Tap tangerine balsamic vinegar.  Rice vinegar might also work. 

1/4 cup of Trader Joe's already cooked steamed lentils.

I pre-dressed the greens with a splash of balsamic.

This is a power-packed stick-to-the-ribs salad!

My "Tuna Fish" Salad without the Tuna Take-to-Work Lunch

Thanks to my sis for telling me about fat-free NaSoya Nayonaise.  Who knew?  I went back to my kitchen-lab and starting playing with a variation of Ellen Allard's "Chickpea Tastes-Like-Tuna salad.  Click here for Ellen's version.

This is a work in progress, even though I really loved this sandwich (so did my husband).  I just think I can make it even better with a little work.  It was perfect on an Ezekiel English muffin.

Makes 4 sandwiches

15 ounce can of no-salt chickpeas, drained

2 stalks of celery finely chopped

1 TBS fresh snipped dill, or 2 tsp. of dry dill weed

1 tsp. celery seed

2 TBS.  finely chopped dill pickle or pickle relish

1 TBS. capers (I LOVE capers)

1 tsp. kelp flakes (don't worry if you can't find these.  I found it at Whole Foods)

2 TBS. fat-free Nayonaise

2 TBS. fat-free Sahara brand roasted red pepper hummus

1/2 tsp sea salt (optonal)

1/4 tsp ground white (or black) pepper

Mash all the beans in a bowl using the bottom of a flat-bottomed drinking glass (or a fork, or a potato masher, or if you like to dirty more dishes, carefully use a food processor).  You want the beans broken, but not pulverized--kind of a mix of chunky & smooth.

Add more hummus or mayo if you like.

Serve on toast, or an Ezekiel English muffin.

My Reorganized Spice Cabinet--Now I Can Find Exactly What I'm Looking For

And there are 4 other racks behind this one.  I finally took everything out to see exactly what I had.  Alphabetized everything, consolidated duplicates, threw out old stuff & spices I never use---and organized the whole mess!

The front 4 racks hold all my everyday-always-use spices, and they are all alphabetized.

The 4 racks behind this one are also alphabetized and hold my once-in-a-while or over-sized spices.  The shelves behind the racks were also cleared of stuff I no long need, use, or want. 

What a pleasure!  I'm sure all my houseguests who join in cooking with me will appreciate my new & improved spice organization.

Next project.  The pantry!

Plant-Based Eating Confusion! Omega-3s, Omega-6s, Glycemic Index, ORAC Index and More. A Picture, a Chart, and the ANDI Rankings Help Clear the Confusion.

"The quality of a diet can be judged base on three simple criteria.

• Levels of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals) per calorie
• Amounts of macronutrients (fat, carbohydrate, protein) to meet individual needs, without excessive calories that may lead to weight gain or health compromise.
• Avoidance of potentially toxic substances (such as trans fats) and limited amounts of other potentially harmful substances (such as sodium)

A person who... is called a nutritarian... understands that food has powerful disease–protecting and therapeutic effects and seeks to consume a broad array of micronutrients via their food choices.

It is not sufficient to merely avoid fats.

It is not sufficient for the diet to have a low glycemic index.

It is not sufficient for the diet to be low in animal products.

It is not sufficient for the diet to be mostly raw food.

A truly healthy diet must be micronutrient rich. The foods with the highest micronutrient per calorie scores are green vegetables, colorful vegetables, and fresh fruits.

For optimal health and to combat disease, it is necessary to consume enough of these foods."  Excerpted from DrFuhrman.com

Click here to go to the web version of this post if you've received it via email.

Yesterday I finally had a chance to poke around in Dr. William Lands', KIM2 software program.  It was developed as an aid to compare the foods we eat by their omega-3 and omega-6 content. 

The goal is to try to keep the omega-6 and omega-3 fats in our diet to a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio for optimal health. 

Most American's are typically way out of whack--at 17:1 in favor of the inflammatory omega-6s. Think oils, peanut butter, meat, farmed fish, and chicken.  Of course, how can we cut down omega-6s if we don't even know which foods are loaded with them?

That's where Kim2 comes into the picture!  According to Lands, and many other scientists, a diet too high in omega-6s brings inflammation, heart disease, stroke, depression, arthritis, and more.  Keep those omega-3s high and you'll have a happy, healthy, long life.  Even the U.S. military is seriously looking into ways to boost the omega-3 content of their soldiers' diets as a way to combat depression, mood disorders, and alcoholism, as well as cardiovascular disease.

As I poked around in his database I got more & more confused.  Sure it's obvious that all the plant oils are high in the omega 6's.  Check.  I get that.  Steak, chicken, nuts, and pepperoni pizza are also high in omega 6's. Not a surprise.

Here's my confusion:  Tofu, tempeh, quinoa, lentils, and even brown rice are also high in omega 6's.  Huh?  I thought those were the good guys.  What's up with that?

So I emailed Dr. Lands.  Please explain my confusion, I begged!

Here's an excerpt from his reply:

The five polysaccharide foods that you mentioned (quinoa, brown rice, tofu, tempeh, & lentils) illustrate how grains and cereals carry overabundant amounts of omega-6 compared to omega-3.

Thus "whole grains" carry hidden risks not often discussed.  You seem aware of some ways to balance their effects.  Other foods like squash, turnips and beans (green, kidney and pinto) carry more omega-3 compared to omega-6.  

You recognize risk in olive oil that needs to be balanced, and you likely see that it is easier to "balance" than corn, soybean or sunflower oil.

I, too, am a great believer in prevention.

Bill Lands 

But, wait a second, I thought.  Omega-3s are just one part of the whole nutrition equation.  What about vitamins, minerals, fiber, the glycemic index, the ORAC anti-oxidant index, calories, and phytonutrients?  All that important stuff.  You can't just look at one nutrient, like Omega-3s in isolation to everything else.  RIght?

And bingo--I went back to my bookshelf & took a closer look at Dr. Joel Fuhrman's ANDI (aggregate nutrient index) rankings. 

Fuhrman has taken all the "flying by the seat of our pants" guesswork out of making the best food choices.  Getting the best nutrient bang for our calorie buck.

Here's what this wonderful doctor has done for us.  He's plugged in all the important variables we need--calcium, carotenoids, the vitamins, the minerals, the ORAC anti-oxidant scores, etc., and compared 150 common foods "based on how many nutrients they deliver to your body in each calorie consumed."  Each of the food scores is out of a possible 1,000 based on the nutrients per calorie of the equation.

This is just one measure--it's not perfect--but at least it gives me a clearer picture of which foods will give me the biggest health bang for my calorie buck.   And it's worth noting that Whole Foods has partnered with Dr. Fuhrman (as well as Rip Esselstyn), and they now provide ANDI rankings on much of their produce.  Click here

How Plants Fill You Up, Power You Up, and Prevent Overeating

Source: Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Eat for Health. Book One, 2008.  pg. 68.

This explains why I'm feeling so full and satisfied eating oil-free and plant-based, but still losing some of those so-hard-to-lose pounds!

Dr. T. Colin Campbell's "Nutrient Composition of Plant and Animal-Based Foods (per 500 Calories of Energy)

 

This chart makes it clear as day where you're going to find the best nutrient bang for your calorie dollar!

Source:  T. Colin Campbell, PhD.  The China Study.  Dallas:Benbella Books, 2006, pg. 230.

The ANDI Scale--A Tool to Help Us Make Smart Food Choices

Source:  Joel Fuhrman, MD.  Eat for Health.  Book One.  Fleming, NJ: Gift of Health Press, 2008, pgs. 49-55.  Highly recommended. 

"As expected, green vegetables walk away with the gold medal and no other food is even close.  While most people are eating the majority of their caloric intake from the lower end of this table, those that move their consumption higher will dramatically protect their health".   -Dr. Joel Fuhrman-

 

Oops!! Made a mistake!  Second to the last entry--Honeydew Melon should be  Honey  2.  Honeydew Melon is 45!  Thanks to Hank for pointing it out!

The Big surprise to me--according to the Lands KIM2 software, and Fuhrman's ANDI rankings, the greens are top-dog for their omega-3:omega-6 balance & their high nutrient content.  As for the whole grains, beans, and soy products--yes, there is a place for them, but certainly not as the centerpiece of every meal. 

Even on the ANDI rankings, brown rice was only 41, Quinoa 21,  Lentils 68, Whole Wheat pasta 19, Soybeans 48, and Tofu 86.  Hadn't noticed that before!  Maybe KIM2 wasn't so far off after all!

Bring on the Green Smoothies, lunch & dinner salads, and cooked greens! 

Oil--forget about it.  Nuts & avocados--not so worth it.  Coke, Pepsi, Ice Cream, & McDonald's French Fries--I don't think so!

Everyone Can Do This! Breakfast & Lunch on the Esselstyn Plant-Based No-Oil Diet Challenge. Fast, Hearty, Healthy and Delicious.

 

 

Hearty Lentil Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Veggie Sandwich

"Just find a simple nutrient-packed hearty breakfast & lunch and you're two-thirds of the way home.  No-fat roasted red pepper hummus makes everything taste delicious! Ann Esselstyn is 100% right."

-The Healthy Librarian-

 

 

Click here to get to the web version with photos & links, if you've received this via email.

Right off the bat I have to tell you that I will get back to reporting on other topics soon!  I promise.  My three week Esselstyn plant-based no-fat diet trial ends on Monday--and soon after I'll get that lipid panel taken.  And I still haven't told you about the success story of Robert D.--one of Dr. Esselstyn's patients who spoke at our orientation session on June 18th.  It's a must-hear story!

There have been so many other interesting stories coming my way that I haven't had a chance to share:

• Dr. Ned & Sue Hallowell's  (remember him?) new book:  Married to Distraction, Restoring Intimacy and Strengthening Your Marriage in an Age of Interruption.  Computers, smart phones, Facebook, and a million & one other attention grabbers that constantly entice us & compete for our attention--to the detriment of our most important relationships.  And yes, I have to admit that blogging is a huge time-consumer!
  
• William Powers' new book:  Hamlet's BlackBerry:  A practical philosophy for building a good life in a digital age.   All about how the onslaught of technology is affecting to our brains, our relationships, and our well-being.
  
• The Endocrine Society's just published 66 page position statement on "Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy"  in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, July 2010 vol. 95, suppl. 1.  Rethinking the Women's Health Initiative.  HRT for the 50-55 years old set?  Yes, there really are some benefits.  (Remember this one?) (or this one?)
  
• Dr. Ken Fujioka's (remember him?) recent Medscape CME on "Obesity & Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: The Loaded Gun.  Think arthritis, asthma, sleep apnea, cancer, and depression.
  
• Parenting 101.  Some of the best parenting advice I've ever heard--from psychologists, Lisa Damour & Ethan Schafer.  What does a 3 year old have in common with a Las Vegas gambler--and why you need to know?   What about teen-agers?   My husband also caught this interview & loved it. 
  

Almost Three Weeks on a Plant-Based No-Added Oil Diet---So, How's It Going?

Honestly, I wasn't expecting to notice any changes in just three weeks time.  And I certainly wasn't expecting to notice any changes other than, hopefully, in my lipid numbers.  But, I've had some pleasant surprises:

• I've lost 3 pounds and I'm eating whenever I'm hungry.
• My clothes fit much better, or are much looser than one would expect after only a 3 pound weight loss.  No at all sure why.  My out-of-town sis, who was visiting last week sees big changes--I'm not so sure.
• I really have more energy--and it's not as if I wasn't eating a healthy diet or exercising before.  I'm up at 5:30 or 6:00 am & going strong until 11:00 or 11:30 pm--It's like gaining an hour each day.  No idea about this one.
• I'm getting better at figuring out which foods will keep me full & satisfied the longest--especially  after heavy exercise.  I've got the shopping list down, and have a frig stocked with on-the-fly eating options.  No more sudden feelings of, "I'm out of fuel.  Feed me fast!"  But, I'm definitely cooking a lot.
• The day I ate a sliced roasted golden beet for a snack I knew I had turned the corner.
• My-make-life-easy tip:  Roast beets (wrap in foil), sweet potatoes, and large onions (wrap in foil) ahead of time for easy meal prep.  Great in salads, wraps, or to just eat plain.  Those roasted onions make browning & caramelizing onions into a quick job.
• My post-dinner snacking-binge is a thing of the past.  Cherries, watermelon, a Wasa Light Rye cracker with a schmear of red pepper hummus does the job.  For the first time ever, after working late last night I didn't care to eat anything more than hummus on a Wasa when I got home.
• Downside: I can't fly out the door unprepared--but I never did before, anyway.  On a work day, I'm packing either a 6 cup hefty salad, a hefty sprouted grain tortilla wrap, a hefty sandwich, or leftovers from dinner--a green smoothie, a piece or 2 of fruit, and maybe some veggies & hummus.    Trust me, I'm not going hungry.  I do miss my Larabars, and it would be nice to be able to eat nut butters & a few walnuts.  Stay tuned for my new discovery, thanks to my niece, Jamie--powdered low-fat peanut butter to mix up with water.  She says it tastes just fine---I just want to know if the powdered version is actually healthy.  Bell Plantation PB2   Does anyone know?
• The best part of this diet is how nutrient-dense it is.  I'm focusing on the fruit, veggies, & beans.  Chock full of vitamins, minerals, phytonutritents, and fiber.

No Excuses--Anyone Can At Least Make a Healthy Breakfast & Lunch

Even if you don't like to cook--you can still make a healthy breakfast & lunch.

Even if you have small kids or a spouse who refuse to eat this way--you can still make yourself a healthy breakfast & lunch.

Even if you don't want to miss out on restaurant food, and dinner parties--you can still make yourself a healthy breakfast & lunch.

So Simple Over-Night Steel-Cut Oats & Berries

 

 

 

 

4 servings

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Steel-Cut Oats

2 cups of water

1 tsp. pumpkin pie or apple pie seasoning

1/2 cup sliced dried apple rings, like Mariani, cut them into smaller pieces

Optional:  1/4 cup of raisins or chopped up dates, or use other dried fruits.   I want to keep the sugar content down, so I stick to the apples.

1/2 a cup of soy, hazelnut, almond, or oat milk

Add the oats, water, and seasoning to a saucepan before you go to bed.  Cover it and let it sit out overnight.

In the morning, add about 1/2 cup of the "milk" to the pan, mix, and heat over medium heat until it starts to boil.  As soon as it starts to bubble, lower the heat to a simmer, and watch carefully.  It's done in 5-10 minutes--as soon as the liquid is absorbed.  Add more milk if you like a creamier consistency.

Top with fresh berries & 1 TBS. of flax meal.

Refrigerate leftovers, and enjoy 3 more breakfasts.  Just warm them up in the microwave.  I like to warm the berries, too, so they are soft.

If you like this sweeter, add a bit of maple syrup or agave--or make try adding raisins or dates as it soaks overnight.

Nutrition Facts Healthy Librarian's Steel cut oat with apples & blueberries
Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories	211
Total Fat	5.2g
Saturated Fat	0.8g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	17mg
Carbohydrate	37.9g
Dietary Fiber	6.9g
Sugars	6.6g
Protein	7.9g
Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 2% Calcium    6% Iron 12%

 

 

Nutrient Dense Wrap with Sweet Potatoes, Mina's Black Beans & Rice, Tomatoes, & Spinach

 

1 large French Meadow or Ezekiel 4:9 brand sprouted grain tortilla  (French Meadow seems moister & more pliable to me)

1/4 of a large roasted sweet potato, smooshed

3-4 TBS of Sahara Cuisine fat & tahini free black bean dip

1/2 cup (more or less) of Mina's Easy Rice & Beans (see recipe is below)

Handful of spinach leaves

Handful of halved cherry tomatoes (about 5)

Mina's So Easy Black Beans & Rice  (make a double batch & keep in the fridge)

Use 2 cups of cooked brown rice (or one bag of Traders Joe's boxed frozen brown rice); 1/3 cup or more of Trader Joe's Spicy, Smoky, Peach Salsa; 1/3 cup or more of Trader Joe's Corn and Chile Tomato-less Salsa; and 1 can of rinsed Black Beans.  Eat warm or cold.  Wrap in a burrito or eat in a bowl or on top of salad greens.

Nutrition Facts for  Mina´s Sweet & Spicy Black Beans & R Serving Size: 1 serving Amount Per Serving Calories 148 Total Fat 0.4g       Saturated Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 535mg Carbohydrate 28.9g       Dietary Fiber 4.9g       Sugars 6g Protein 6.2g Vitamin A 2% Vitamin C 12% Calcium    4% Iron 9%

Spread the middle of the tortilla with the bean dip.  Add the sweet potato, the rice & beans, the tomatoes, and spinach.  Add a thin line of Olive Tap Mandarin Orange Balsamic Vinegar on top of the spinach, if you like.  Roll tightly, squishing the ingredients towards you, into the wrap, as you roll--in order to make a nice tight wrap.

Hot Crispy option:  Heat in a preheated 450 degree oven for 10-11 minutes, until crisp

Take to work option:  Tightly wrap in foil without heating.  Take along a large piece of waxed paper, so you can transfer the foil-wrapped tortilla into the waxed paper for microwave heating.  Warm for about 1 minute.

Just How Hearty is the Sweet Potato Black Bean & Rice Veggie Wrap?

Nutrition Facts Healthy Librarian's Sweet Potato Black Bean & Rice Wrap
Serving Size: 1 recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories	394
Total Fat	3.9g
Saturated Fat	0.5g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	589mg
Carbohydrate	73.2g
Dietary Fiber	16.6g
Sugars	12.8g
Protein	17.4g
Vitamin A 419% Vitamin C 67% Calcium    14% Iron 33%

Hearty Lentil Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Veggie Sandwich

 

 

2 slices of toasted Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted bread

2 ounces of Sahara Cuisine No-Fat Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1/4 cup Trader Joe's (already cooked) Steamed Lentils (in refrigerater produce case)

1/4 cup sliced cucumbers

1/4 cup red pepper slices

5 sliced cherry tomatoes

Option:  add some hot Sriracha Chili Sauce or some chipotle peppers with adobe sauce into you hummus if you like heat & kick.  Add some basil or spinach leaves.

Just How Hearty Is This Sandwich?

 

Nutrition Facts Healthy Librarian's Lentil Hummus Sandwich Serving Size: 1 recipe Amount Per Serving Calories 276 Total Fat 1.1g       Saturated Fat 0g       Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 424mg Carbohydrate 53.3g       Dietary Fiber 13.3g       Sugars 4.3g Protein 17.5g Vitamin A 31% Vitamin C 139% Calcium    8% Iron 22%

 

My Work-Late Salad with Spicy Teriyaki Sauced Seitan

 

Love Love Love These Six Cup Stomach-Filling Salads

Step 1:  Brown up a package or 2 of seitan--the "wheat meat" and then add some Bone Suckin' Barbecue Sauce (Thicker style) or my new fave--Dragunara Spicy Teriyaki Sauce, it's organic & oil free.  No need for oil or oil spray with my new non-stick frying pan!  Continue to heat until the seitan is nicely browned.  Don't worry, it's done in 5 minutes!

Note:  1/3 cup of seitan has 24 grams of protein--for those who are counting!

Store these tasty gems in the fridge, to add to your salads, stir fries, or wraps. 

Note:  Bone Suckin' Sauce is a lot lower in sodium than the Dragunara Spicy Teriyaki.  Why is there so much salt in everything???

I couldn't find Ann Esselstyn's recommended brands of seitan, like White Wave or Lightlife, so I used WestSoy's Seitan Strips--found in the refrigerated cheese/soy products case at Whole Foods & health food stores.  Too bad the sodium content is on the higher side & there's a tad of ginger oil in it for flavoring.  I did rinse them off before browning them--but I'm on the look-out for a lower salt brand.

My new fave non-stick frying pan: The Cuisinart GreenGourmet Non-Stick No Teflon, no-nasty-chemicals-in-it 10" skillet.  I'm not using any spray oil, and so far, so good.  Love this pan.  It looks like the food will stick, but then it doesn't.  Clean up is a breeze.  I even cooked pancakes in it without sticking.  Absolutely amazing!  Found this at Bed, Bath, & Beyond--20% coupon!!

The Six Cup Spicy Saucey Seitan Work Late Dinner Salad

Use a 6 cup plastic container.

Add a good splash of Olive Tap Mandarin Orange Balsamic Vinegar.  Keep any wet dressing on the bottom, so the salad doesn't get soggy.

Mesclun greens, spinach, or romaine lettuce

Red peppers

Slice roasted beets

Sliced tomatoes

Sliced cucumbers

Try Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn, thawed, too!

Add leftover veggies of any kind--carrots, cabbage, zucchini, corn. etc.

2 TBS. Trader Joe's Spicy No-Tomato Corn & Chili Salsa  (this & the balsamic are enough to dress the salad perfectly)

1/3 cup spicy teriyaki or barbecued seitan

More Recipes this weekend!  I promise.  The oatmeal bean blueberry pancakes, the lasagna, and some good bean burger & fries recipes!!  Still need to share my Spicy All-American Three Bean Chili, and Dick's Moroccan Stew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week Two on Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's Heart Disease Prevention/Reversal Diet Challenge. The Rules, Tips, and Tricks to Enjoy Plant-Based Oil-Free Eating

 

My Vegetable Bin Lunch--6 cups of Super Salad

"Making breakfast and lunch simple and nearly the same as possible everyday is helpful.  For breakfast, include some form of oats with their good cholesterol- lowering properties.

Try to keep lunch to soup and bread, salads, or sandwiches. Start as many meals as possible with salads.  Add all the vegetables you can!  Find a salad dressing you love.

Greens!!  Put them everywhere!  Focus on them."

-Ann Esselstyn, heart disease prevention & reversal diet teacher, coach, & recipe developer, extraordinaire-

 

My Everyday Breakfast--Steel-Cut Oats, Dried Apples, & Berries

 

Daily Mid-Morning, Mid-Day, On the Drive Home from Work Green Smoothie Snack

 

If you received this via email, Click Here to get to the web version & all the links.

I'm now almost 2 weeks into eating plant-based Esselstyn-style.  Making the switch has been so much easier than I ever expected.  Here are some of my biggest surprises:

For Part I of this series, click here

For the post that explains why I'm taking this diet challenge, click here

• Cooking without oil is easy.  It's not the big deal I thought it would be.  I've browned Cajun sweet potato fries, & Yukon Gold potato wedges in a 450 degree oven on parchment paper or a Silpat.  Caramelized onions, browned tempeh, seitan, veggie burgers and vegetables, and even made amazing oatmeal white bean blueberry pancakes in a non-stick pan without added oil.
• A six-cup lunch salad will keep me full for hours.  Forget about just eating salad greens.  I add in roasted corn, cut-up roasted beets, red peppers, cut up left-over 100% buckwheat soba noodles, barbecue seitan, cucumbers, tomatoes, 2 TBS of Trader Joe's Corn Salsa for kick, and a splash of high quality Olive Tap balsamic vinegar--which comes in flavors like lemon, pomegranate, Mandarin orange, and more.
• Who needs avocados when you have fat-free Sahara Cuisine Roasted Red Pepper Hummus?  We are loving Sahara Cuisine's Fat-Free Hummus & Black Bean Dips!  It absolutely substitutes for the creamy mouth-feel of avocado on a sandwich or on a cracker.  I don't even miss my beloved Terrapin Ridge Spicy Chipotle squeeze. Dump a can of chipotle's with adobo sauce into a blender--freeze for storage--and add a teaspoon to some red pepper hummus & you've got instant delicious chipotle sauce to top your sandwich or bean/veggie burgers.  See below for where to buy hummus.
• I was eating way too much sodium/salt and fat without even knowing it.  Although I read labels carefully, I never paid much attention to the sodium content of vegetable broths, and soups.  My favorite brand, Imagine, has oil & huge amounts of salt added to all their vegetable soups (like Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper, Cuban Black Bean Bisque, & Moroccan Chickpea Bisque).  Like 750 mg ( 31% DV) of sodium for 1 cup of Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup & who eats just 1 cup of soup?  There's added oil in almost every store-bought pasta sauce, bread, tortilla wrap, veggie burger, cracker, or chip.  It doesn't matter if it's organic, or from a "health food" company like Amy's, Gardenburger, or Whole Foods.  Look at the labels.  Who knew?  Buy Pacific Low Sodium Vegetable Broth at 140 mg per cup, or Trader Joe's Low Sodium Vegetable Broth.
• Unsweetened Regular Silk Soy Milk is an acceptable coffee creamer.  It works.  It lightens my coffee, and tastes just fine.  We were used to buying cartons of Trader Joe's Soy Creamer, thinking the added sweetener & expeller pressed canola oil in it was OK.  It was almost as bad as using Cremora powdered coffee lightener--well maybe not quite as bad.
• Not missing the nuts!  It's funny, I thought I couldn't live without nuts or Larabars.  Don't miss them at all.  Soon after ditching the nuts I got to see Jeff Novick's DVD on "From Oil To Nuts"  (click here) that explains why nuts aren't exactly the health foods we think they are.  They're high in calories, they all have some saturated fat, and except for English walnuts, all of them are very high in inflammatory omega-6s--especially pine nuts, peanuts, almonds, brazil nuts, and my favorite, cashews!  I serendipitously found Dr. Bill Lands' NIH lecture about the importance of lowering our intake of omega-6 fats--and now I'm convinced about the benefits of no-oil & no nuts (walnuts excepted).  Big tip: do yourself a favor & cut out peanut butter!!  It's sky high in omega-6's. More on Bill Lands & Jeff Novick in another post--in the meantime if you'd like to catch Bill's lecture (you'll have to register with iAmplify & download the lecture), click here.
  
• Knowing the rules of the game makes it easier to play the game.  I don't even think about eating ice cream (vegan or dairy), chips of any kind, cookies, pretzels, or dark chocolate.  They are just off my list.  If I want a snack in the evening, it's watermelon, berries, a couple crackers with hummus, or maybe air-popped popcorn.  It's as simple as that.  We talk about how kids need boundaries--it makes life easier for them. I guess I do to!
• 100% Cheese-free Pizza can be a gourmet delight.  What a treat for me!  On Wednesday not only did I have to work while my kids were visiting from New York City (bummer), but I had a 3 1/2 hour long dental appointment afterward.  When I got home at 7:30, my son (who is a fantastic cook) was ready to pop 3 cheese-free pizzas into the oven.  He used 100% whole wheat Kabuli Pizza crusts (found at a non-Whole Foods natural food grocery) and Nature's Hilights Brown Rice Pizza Crust (found in the freezer section) of Whole Foods.  He topped the crusts with a no-oil added pasta sauce, an assortment of  vegetables we had just picked up from our Amish farmer's C.S.A. (community-supported agriculture co-op), and seasoned them with  oregano, basil, and chives from my garden.   Even my picky cheese-loving St. Louis son gave these pizzas a big thumbs-up--after first moaning & questioning the logic of cheese-free pizza.  Tip: We preferred the Kabuli crust to the Hilight's.

Zucchini, Red Pepper, Scallions, Fresh Oregano & Basil Pizza

Mushroom, Chives, Garlic, & Fresh Oregano Pizza

Roasted Beet, Sauteed Kale, Kalamata Olive, & Garlic Pizza

Ann Esselstyn's User-Friendly Rules & Strategies for Making the Heart Disease Prevention & Reversal Diet Work

• No meat, no poultry, no fish--not even salmon
• No dairy of any kind--not even skim milk or non-fat yogurt. 
• No eggs--not even egg whites or Egg Beaters. 
• No oil--not even virgin olive oil or canola oil
• Aim for 100% Whole Grain products. Ingredients must say, Whole Wheat, or Whole Buckwheat, Whole Rye,etc. 100% stone-ground wheat is not Whole Wheat unless the word Whole appears.  Forget about semolina flour in pasta.  Forget about white rice.  I thought my Barilla Plus multigrain pasta was fantastic--turns out, semolina is the number one ingredient.
• Do not drink juice. Fruit is fine.  A little juice used to saute, or season recipes or for salad dressings is fine
• Do not eat nuts, even walnuts unless you do not have heart disease.
• Do not eat avocados, if you have heart disease.
• Do not eat coconut, if you have heart disease.
• Eat soy products cautiously.  They are high in fat (40% +) and many are highly processed.  Only use Lite Tofu (like Mori-Nu or NaSoya Lite Firm Tofu).  I also use Soy Boy Organic 5 Grain Low Fat Tempeh.
• Reduce sugar as much as possible.  When you do use it for recipes, stick to the more unprocessed varieties.  But don't fool yourself, maple syrup, agave, and honey are still sugar. I use stevia.
• Read all labels, especially THE INGREDIENTS!!!

The Rest of the World of Vegetables, Fruit, Legumes, and Whole Grains is Yours.

Read Labels Carefully--What to Watch Out For

1.  Be sure no fat is added. Products change, and their ingredients change all the time.  Make sure there is no added oil of any kind, in the ingredient list, even if the label says zero fat.  By law products can contain less than .5% gram of fat & still say zero fat.  Glycerin, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, mono and diglycerides are all forms of hidden fat.  When you start carefully looking at labels you start to notice that there is added fat in EVERYTHING--even no-fat vegan Boca Burgers, and pasta sauces that say they have no fat.

2.  Watch out for sodium.  Salt is everywhere.  Buy no salt added tomatoes, and beans when you can.  Bionaturae organic diced tomatoes have 20 mg of sodium per 1/2 cup serving.  Contadina Diced Tomatoes with Roasted Garlic have a whopping 560 mg of sodium per 1/2 cup serving. Buy low-sodium Pacific or Trader Joe's vegetable broths.

3.  Find a bread that's whole grain, and made without oil--another big challenge.  Options include whole wheat pita, Ezekiel 4:9 breads, buns, wraps, & English Muffins.  You'll find the Ezekiel/Food for Life brand at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and in the freezer case at most grocery stores.  I love all their products--and they are flourless, and sprouted--which is supposedly healthier.

4.  Find yourself a pasta sauce made without oil or too much salt.  Options: Trader Joe's Organic Spaghetti Sauce with Mushrooms is oil-free, Whole Foods has a brand, as well as Muir Glen's Portobella Mushroom Sauce.  Or make your own.

5.  Veggie Burgers would be fine--but I can't find one brand that is made without oil.  I make my own Lentil Dal Burgers, Falafel Burgers, and Smoky Tofu Red Bean Burgers & freeze them.

Ann's Amazing Cooking Tips

Ann has over 20 years of experience with eating & cooking no-oil & plant-based.  This is just a few of her many tips.

1.  Roast Vidalia onions, covered in a low to moderate oven & keep in the fridge to chop up for recipes.  I made almost instant grilled onions to top burgers with one of these--just a 5 minute oil-free saute with paprika & a dash of pepper.  Bingo!

2.  Roast a supply of sweet potatoes or yams to add to salads, recipes, or to just enjoy plain.

3.  Keep no-fat veggie broth on hand to saute or stir-fry.  It's my new oil.

4.  Use no-fat added hummus as mayonnaise, as a sandwich base, an avocado substitute, a dip for veggies or crackers or pita, or a base for creamy salad dressings.  It's amazing stuff!

5.  Try to steam a few vegetables each night for dinner. 

6.  Use a wooden citrus reamer to get all the juice out of even dry limes or lemons--a microplane is a must for zesting citrus, or grating ginger.  I wouldn't want to eat plant-based without my Kyocera ceramic utility knife!

7.  Cook perfect collard greens in boiling water for a few minutes until slightly tender, and use them as wraps, or to make veggie sushi.

8.  If you do just one thing, Eat Greens!  Cook them along with your pasta water.  Kale, collards, Swiss Chard, bok choy, etc. are the best foods you can eat--have them as often as you can--blend them in Green Smoothies, add them to soups, stir fries, or just sauteed with garlic & lemon.

9.  Egg substitutes for baking.  Use 1 tablespoon of flax seed meal plus 3 tablespoons of water per egg. Or  1 1/2 tsp. of Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 2 tablespoons of warm water equals 1 egg.

10.  Oil replacement for baking.  Use equal amounts of mixed prunes or applesauce.

11.  Milk replacement for cereal, drinks, or cooking.  Use oat, almond, hazelnut, or no-fat soy milk.  Pacific brand makes oat, almond, & hazelnut milks.  Hazelnut is my fave.

12.  Flavored balsamic vinegars are worth the price.  Get these rich, flavorful vinegars from Olive Tap online, or through Dr. Joel Fuhrman's website.  

13.  Healthy desserts are OK once in awhile.  Ann whips up lime & chocolate mousse with 1 package of  Mori-Nu silken tofu, 1/3 cup maple syrup, then either 2 TBS. of cocoa powder or 3 TBS. of lime juice, depending on the version, and the  zest of 1 lime for the lime version or 1 tsp. vanilla for the chocolate version.  She refrigerates or freezes for 2 hrs. before serving.  A blender or VitaMix works best.  She likes to layer the lime mousse with berries. I've tried her recommendation of Sweet Nothing Non-Dairy Fudge Bars & loved them!  She also gives an A-OK for an occasional Haagen-Dazs, Edy's, or Dole fruit sorbet.  Read the labels.

 

Food Brands That I Recommend from Ann's Extensive List

Ann has put together an incredible list of recommended foods that meet her high standards.

Here are a few that I'm enjoying:

Bread

Ezekiel sprouted grain breads, buns, English muffins, & tortilla wraps

Cereal

Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Cereals

Uncle Sam's Cereal

Pasta Sauce

Trader Joe's Organic Spaghetti Sauce with Mushrooms

Crackers

Ryvita

Wasa Original Crispbread

Whole Foods Baked Woven Wheats (like Triscuits)

RealFoods Corn Thins with flax & soy

Hummus/Spreads/Dips

Sahara Cuisine no fat, no tahini Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Sahara Cuisine no fat, no tahini Black Bean Dip with garlic, lemon & spices

This product is not widely available, but you can order it by the case, and it's not expensive. Ann says you can freeze them. Call the owner, Hassan Kahlid at 216-832-8833.  Or get your health food store to carry them.  Be sure to only order the no-fat, no tahini varieties.

Oasis Classic Cuisine Zero Fat Hummus.  Comes no-fat in original, Mediterranean Medley, Roasted Red Pepper, Shiitake Mushroom only.  I have not tasted these.  Call the manager Evan Lanigan at 419-269-1459 for local locations, or to order a case.

Trader Joe's Mango Salsa

Trader Joe's Pineapple Salsa

Trader Joe's Corn and Chili Tomato-Less Salsa (this isn't on Ann's list, and sugar is the #2 ingredient) but 2 Tbs. on top of a salad is a fantastic spicy sweet ingredient.  I love this mixed into brown rice, black beans, & mango salsa.

Broth

Pacific Organic fat-free vegetable broth LOW SODIUM.  This is the lowest in sodium brand Ann has found at 140 mg/cup.

Trader Joe's Organic Low Sodium vegetable broth--same sodium content as Pacific's 140 mg/cup

Tofu/Seitan

Mori-Nu lite low fat silken tofu

NaSoya Lite Silken Tofu (includes extra firm)

White Wave Seitan (love this stuff--I saute the strips with Ann's recommended Bone-Suckin' Barbecue Sauce & add to salads, stir-fries, and wraps.

Lightlife Organic Seitan

Soy Boy low-fat 5 grain tempeh (my recommendation, not on Ann's list)--I brown with light Tamari & orange juice and use in a variety of dishes.

Polenta

Trader Joe's Organic Polenta  (look for other brands, too!)

Condiments

Muir Glen Catsup

Bone-Suckin' Barbecue Sauce

Low Sodium Tamari

Bragg's Liquid Amino's (get the spray bottle to use instead of salt)

Chips

There are no good chips available any more.  Guiltless Gourmet now adds oil to their brand.

Make your own chips from pita bread, corn, or Ezekiel tortillas, or just use crackers

Sorbet/"Ice Cream"

Sweet Nothing Non-Dairy Fruit-Juice Sweetened Fudge Bar, Mango Raspberry  (I found these at Whole Foods.  Made by Turtle Mountain

Haagen-Dazs Sorbet, raspberry, etc.

Edy's Whole Fruit Sorbet, raspberry, etc.

Dole Sorbet, mango, raspberry, lemon, etc. (not chocolate-it has egg whites)

Trader Joe's Double Rainbow Sorbet, chocolate raspberry, lemon, etc.

My Quick Update

After just under 2 weeks I'm happily surprised to notice that I've lost about 2.5 pounds (most people lose much much more, however)--but this is very unusual for me, because my weight just seems to stay stable, and believe me, I'm eating a lot!

My blood pressure is now consistently in the healthy range, even after weight-lifting.  Before, it was often variable.  I'm assuming this is because I'm eating much less sodium.

Not jumping to any conclusions here, but I'm just not tired at anytime during the day (except yesterday when I only got about 5 hours of sleep)--and I'm not ready for bed until about an hour later than usual.

I'm not feeling the sudden hunger pangs that I felt last week.  I owe that to eating a hearty breakfast, and a giant salad that includes some seitan, soba noodles, or an Ezekiel English muffin.  I makes sure I stay fueled.

Stay Tuned for more updates--and the experiences of some of Dr. Esselstyn's patients.

 

 

 

 

 

What the Experts Say About Getting the Most Antioxidants from Our Food. Why We Need Them - How to Best Absorb Them - Cooked or Raw? - Why Organic Matters - The ORAC Index - and the O2 Diet

"About twenty years ago, researchers found the missing link.

They discovered that colorful plant foods in their natural state were also rich in thousands of compounds with important health properties for humans—phytochemicals.

Only by eating an assortment of natural foods that are micronutrient-rich can you get enough of these compounds to protect yourself from the common diseases that afflict Americans."

-Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of "Eat to Live-

If you've received this via email, click here to get to the web version with all the links!

On the long drive to New York City 2 weeks ago I brought along some light reading and listening material to fill my time:

• The March issue of The Oprah Magazine.  I zoned right into: Nina Planck's brilliant article: "Are Organics Worth Their Price"
•  Keri Glassman's The O2 Diet: The Cutting Edge Antioxidant-Based Program That Will Make You Healthy, Thin, and Beautiful  OK-- I agree, this is a terrible title, and I could care less about the thin & beautiful part (not going to happen)--but her user-friendly ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) rankings of common foods--and her easy-to-understand plan to kick up our daily intake of health-giving antioxidants makes this book definitely worth your while.  
• NPR's Your Health Podcast from 7/27/09 The Nutrient Detectives--How Do They Know?  I had listened to this 7 months ago--and what a serendipitous surprise that I chose to give it a "re-listen"!

A magazine, a popular book, and a podcast.  End result:  I increased my understanding of the benefits of antioxidants and organic produce, I learned the best way to eat my fruits and veggies (who knew?), and I now have Glassman's terrific cheat sheet for plotting a way to get her recommended 30,000 ORAC points a day--it's an easy method to make sure I get the most bang for my nutritional buck.

Because of my car ride "entertainment"--O, NPR, & the O2 Diet--I've added, subtracted, and rejiggered some of my daily diet routines.  I've added 3 cups of green tea, for one--and I'm following up tough work-outs with an antioxidant-rich smoothie & extra sleep.  Plus, I'm making an effort to include lots of cinnamon, curcumin, and oregano into my cooking.

Lots of info to share--so I'll just cover the "what's new to me" highlights.

What I Learned About Organics and Antioxidants from Nina Planck

NIna Planck is both a food writer, and an advocate of "real food", farmer's markets, and organic produce.  She wrote her article in O in response to a report released last year by the British Food Standards Agency that pronounced organic food to be no more nutritious than the conventional variety.  Organic advocates claimed the report was flawed, incomplete, and biased.

Here's Planck's case for organic produce:

• The French Agency for Food Safety:  organics have more antioxidants, heart-healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids, iron and magnesium than conventionals
• The British Food Standard's Agency:  organics have more magnesium, zinc, antioxidant phytochemicals, like polyphenols & flavonoids than conventionals
• A 5-year 33 university study sponsored by the European Commission--believed to be the largest study of its kind--found organic cabbage & potatoes have more vitamin C--and organic tomatoes have more nutrients overall. 

My eye-opening finding from Planck's article:  How Using No Pesticides Increases the Antioxidant Content of Fruits & Vegetables

"A lack of pesticide exposure is an important reason organic produce has higher levels of beneficial antioxidants like vitamin C--which fight the free radicals implicated in aging, cancer, and heart disease.

Antioxidants are actually part of a plant's own defenses.  In fruits and vegetables, these bitter elements help fend off attacks by bugs and fungi.

Organic crops contain more of these compounds because they have to work harder to protect themselves--with no man-made pesticides to the rescue.

In addition, organic produce is free of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, which can also weaken plants' health.  Nitrogen produces a watery, sugary cell sap that compromises the plant's ability to build its immune system.

Plants that come to rely on the chemical can no longer fend off pests naturally.  Crops that are treated with the synthetic fertilizer also have overly leafy growth and poor flavor, as farmers have long known.  That's because the plants' natural immune system of antioxidants is what makes produce aromatic and savory.

In other words, a healthy plant makes a healthy meal--and a tastier one."

Bottom Line:  Plants do a better job of building up their own immune systems with antioxidants to fight of disease, fungus, and pests when they're grow organically--without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

I don't usually buy organic--but Planck's article is making me rethink that habit.

What I Learned From NPR's  "Your Health" Podcast, "The Nutrient Detectives--How Do They Know?"

1.  The Beta-Carotene Fat Connection:  (Yes--I already mentioned this in the olive oil post) To best absorb antioxidant carotenoids we need a little fat in the form of some nuts, seeds, or olive oil when we eat our fruits & vegetables--according to  Wendy White, a professor Human Nutrition at Iowa State University.

Carotenoids are the pigments responsible for red-, yellow- and orange-colored fruits and vegetables. And carotenoids are also found in dark green vegetables such as spinach. The compounds convert to Vitamin A in the body, and studies have found that carotenoids have antioxidant activity which may help protect our cells from damage caused by free radicals.

Human studies have linked high consumption of fruits and vegetables to reduced risk of cancer.   White's salad study at Iowa State found that volunteers who ate  full-fat dressing absorbed the most beta-carotene.  The reduced-fat dressing eaters had substantially less absorption of beta-carotene.  And the fat-free dressing salad eaters had no absorption of the beta-carotenes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2004 Aug;80(2):396-403.

2. Chop up your fruits & vegetables into tiny pieces for better antioxidant absorption.  According to Dr. White, the finer you can chop up your vegetables the more you can increase the nutrient absorption-- because it breaks down the plant material, aka cellulose.  

"When we chew a salad, we often don't do an efficient  job of crushing every cell;  about 70-90% of the cells are not broken open.  As a result most of the valuable nutrients contained within those cells never enter our bloodstream and are lost.

An even more efficient way to ensure you receive these needed nutrients is using a blender (think VitaMix) to puree raw, leafy greens.  The blending process aids your body in the work of breaking down and assimilating nutrients.  It guarantees that a higher percentage of nutrients will be absorbed into your bloodstream."

-Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Eat For Health-

3.  Raw Isn't Always Better.  Heat isn't always destructive to antioxidants.  When it comes to absorbing fruits & vegetables with beta-carotene and lycopene--think carrots and tomatoes--cooking actually aids absorption, because it softens the plant material, and releases their nutrients.  It just so happens that lycopene & beta-carotene are very stable antioxidants that aren't harmed by heat.

4.  What's the best cooking method to retain antioxidants?  According to a recent study in the Journal of Food Science click here  microwaving is the winner when it comes to preserving nutrients--because it's mild, quick, and it preserves the water soluble nutrients like vitamin C & B.  Boiling is the worst method--water is definitely not the cook's "best friend".

5.  Measuring the antioxidant content of fruits & vegetables at the USDA Research Center in Beltsville Maryland.  James Harnly is the guy who measures the phytonutrients for the USDA ORAC Index--using a complicated freezing, drying, grinding, liquid chromatography process.   It turns out--and most of us already know this--the fruits and vegetables with the highest antioxidant content are blueberries for their flavonoids; the Brassica family vegetables, like kale, cauliflower, and broccoli; the deep purple vegetables like eggplant for their anthocyanins; and apples for the flavonols in their skin. 

According to Harnly, when it comes to most fruits--the flavonoids are mostly in their skins--think apple & orange peels.  Whatever you do--don't throw away the peels.   Although researchers know that antioxidants are beneficial, how they work to prevent and neutralize free-radical damage is still an unknown.  Harnly guesses that it will likely turn out to be part of some sophisticated cascading effect going on in the body--that needs antioxidants to get started.

Using Keri Glassman's O2 Diet and Her ORAC Lists to Fine-Tune Your Diet

I just happened upon Glassman's book while browsing the New Book shelf at my local public library.  She's a registered dietitian with a New York City nutrition practice, and she's also a nutrition contributor to the CBS Early Show.

What's the ORAC Index anyway?  The ORAC Index was developed by the U. S. Department of Agriculture with the help of the top nutrition scientists in the country.  It ranks 277 foods by antioxidant content--their ability to either destroy or neutralize disease-causing free radicals.  Since oxidative stress caused by free radicals is likely to be one of the factors which plays an important role in the development of chronic and degenerative diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and neuronal degeneration--the ORAC Index is definitely a number to pay attention to when choosing your foods.  Click here for the USDA ORAC Index Fact Sheet

But if you took a look at the USDA's ORAC Index of foods you would scratch your head and wonder, "OK, so now what am I supposed to do with this?"  It definitely ranks the foods--but all the foods are ranked using a quantity of 100 grams--a meaningless measurement--nothing close to normal people portions.  It doesn't give us a clue about how to compare blueberries to apples to spinach in terms of portion size.  But Glassman spells it all out.

Keri Glassman made the ORAC Index usable because she took the USDA numbers and converted them into ounces and then converted them into normal people portions.  Thank you, Keri Glassman!

I love her game plan of using the ORAC Index points to shoot for 30,000 points a day to make sure you're eating a variety of "high-achieving" fruits, vegetables, legumes, carbohydrates, beverages, and spices everyday.

Why 30,000 Points a Day, You Ask?  Here's What Glassman Has to Say:

"Researchers have just begun to scratch the surface of antioxidant research; there are now literally hundreds of studies linking antioxidant-rich foods to better health, including everything from reduced heart disease to a decreased likelihood of cancer.

And while taking too many antioxidant supplements in pill form may be harmful, there's absolutely no downside to consuming more nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables.  Although the current recommendations are that we eat between 3,000 and 5,000 ORAC points a day for optimum health, why not get all you can?

Eating 30,000 ORAC points will boost the antioxidant power of your blood at least 10 to 25% percent according to some of the original ORAC research.  Click here

Don't forget that you still need to eat a balanced diet.  Sure you could get to 30,000 easily on nothing but artichokes, blueberries, and hot cocoa.  But that's not a balanced diet, and you'd be cheating yourself out of the wide variety of nutrients out there."

Easiest way to reach 30,000 points a day?

• Drink a Green Smoothie!  I calculated that my daily smoothie made with 1/2 an apple, 1/2 a grapefruit, 3 cups of kale, 1/2 cup of blueberries, 1/2 of a kiwi, 1/4 cup of pomegranate juice, and 2 carrots, comes to about 17,710 points!  Who knew?

• Add 3 cups of green tea a day for 9,000 more points.  I've never been a tea drinker until now & the scientific research on the benefits of green tea is extensive.

• Add a cup a black beans for 15,600 additional points.  Kidney beans, pinto beans, & lentils--they're all outrageously high in ORAC points.

Great tips from the O2 Diet

• Intense exercise actually weakens your immune system, putting you at risk for getting sick for a full 72 hours  after each workout--so, to counteract the effect of an intense workout-- Glassman recommends increasing your antioxidant intake to 50,000 points and getting an extra half hour of sleep.  Sounds like a plan.

• Oatmeal is brain food.  This complex carbohydrate helps to produce the feel-good chemical serotonin which has antioxidant properties, and helps ease that "stress-out" feeling.  Studies show that kids who eat oatmeal (with 600 ORAC points) for breakfast stay sharper throughout the morning.  No wonder I love my morning crockpot steel cut oats--made with dried fruit that kick up the ORAC points another notch!  Click here for the recipe

• Turmeric/Curcumin, the spice that gives curry its yellow color is a well-known antioxidant--which not only helps in the prevention of Alzheimers, it's recently been shown to reverse impaired cognition and neuronal plasticity caused by stress.  Click here  Turmeric clocks in at 3,500 ORAC points per teaspoon.  I've been taking a 500 mg capsule of curcumin daily, ever since a Columbia University neurologist specializing in Alzheimers told me he takes a teaspoon of turmeric a day.

A Sampling of the O2 Diet's ORAC Index Points

Glassman's book has a full list of the ORAC points of common foods by serving size, and she generously makes these lists available on her website.  Click here for the ORAC point guide.   Click here for the ORAC calculator

Top Foods in the ORAC Index

Fruit/ Serving/ ORAC Value

Blueberries 1 c= 9,700
Cranberries (raw) 1 c= 9,600
Red Delicious apple 1= 7,800
Blackberries 1 c= 7,700
Granny Smith apple 1= 7,100
Raspberries 1 c= 6,000
Strawberries 1 c= 5,400
Gala apple 1= 5,200
Pear 1= 5,200
Fuji apple 1= 4,700
Dried Fruit/ Serving/ ORAC Value
Cranberries, dried 2 Tbsp= 2,100
Prunes 3= 1,900
Currants 2 Tbsp= 1,100
Raisins 2 Tbsp= 600

Starch/ Cereal Serving/ ORAC Value

Oat bran flakes 3⁄4 c= 800
Popcorn, air-popped 5 c= 700
Instant oatmeal 1 packet= 600
Wheat germ 3 Tbsp= —

Bread/Crackers

Pumpernickel bread 1 slice= 500
Oat nut bread 1 slice= 400
Whole grain/seven-grain bread 1 slice= 400

Starchy Vegetable

Sweet potato with skin 1 medium= 2,400
Red potato with skin 1 small= 1,800
White potato with skin 1⁄2 medium= 1,600
Russet potato with skin 1⁄2 medium= 1,500
Corn 3⁄4 c= 700
Butternut squash 1 c= 600
Pumpkin 1 c= 600
Peas 3⁄4 c= 400

Legumes

Black beans 1⁄2 c= 7,800
Kidney beans 1⁄2 c= 7,800
Lentils 1⁄2 c= 7,500
Pinto beans 1⁄2 c= 7,000
Black-eyed peas 1⁄2 c= 3,600
Chickpeas 1⁄2 c= 800
Split peas 1⁄2 c= 500

Vegetable/ Serving/ORAC Value

Artichoke hearts 1⁄2 c= 7,900
Broccoli rabe 1 bunch= 6,800
Red cabbage (cooked) 1⁄2 c= 2,400
Radish (raw) 1 c= 2,000
Broccoli (cooked) 1⁄2 c= 1,900
Kale (raw) 1 c= 1,770
Onion (raw) 1 c= 1,600
Red cabbage (raw) 1 c= 1,600
Asparagus (cooked) 1⁄2 c= 1,500
Green bell peppers (raw) 1 c= 1,400
Salsa 1⁄2 c= 1,300
Spinach (cooked) 1⁄2 c= 1,300
Broccoli (raw) 1 c= 1,200
Red bell peppers (raw) 1 c= 1,200
Brussels sprouts (cooked) 1⁄2 c= 980
Carrots (raw) 1 c= 900
Tomato sauce 1/2 c= 900

Vegetarian Options

Black beans (or black bean soup) 1 c= 15,600
Kidney beans 1 c= 15,600
Pinto beans 1 c= 15,000
Lentils 1 c= 14,000
Black-eyed peas 1 c= 7,300
Edamame (soybeans) 3⁄4 c= 5,400
Chickpeas 1 c= 1,700
Split peas 1 c= 1,000
Hummus 4 Tbsp= 400

Fat/Serving/ORAC Value

Pecans 8 halves= 2,500
Walnuts 7 halves= 1,900
Hazelnuts 8= 1,000
Pistachios 18= 1,000
Avocado 1⁄4= 700
Guacamole 2 Tbsp= 700
Almonds 10= 500
Almond butter 2 tsp= 500
Peanuts 15= 500
Peanut butter 2 tsp= 500
Cashews 8= 200

Beverage/Serving/ORAC Value

Wine (Incorporate alcohol as a conscious indulgence.)
Sangria (See recipe on page 98 of the O2 Diet) 4 oz= 11,900
Cabernet 5 oz= 7,400
Red 5 oz= 5,700
Rosé 5 oz= 1,500
White 5 oz= 600
Tea (Drink up—no calories here!)
Green tea 1 c= 3,000
Black tea 1 c= 2,700
Other herbal teas 1 c= —
Juice (to be consumed in lieu of whole fruit)
Blueberry juice 1⁄2 c= 3,600
Pomegranate juice 1⁄2 c= 2,900
Concord grape juice 1⁄2 c= 2,900
Prune juice 1⁄2 c= 2,600
Red grape juice 1⁄2 c= 2,300
Cranberry–Concord grape juice 1⁄2 c= 1,800
White grapefruit juice 1⁄2 c= 1,500
Cranberry juice 1⁄2 c= 1,100
White grape juice 1⁄2 c= 1,000
Orange juice 1⁄2 c= 900

Herb/Spice/Serving/ORAC Value

Cinnamon, ground 1 tsp= 7,000
Cloves, ground 1 tsp= 6,600
Oregano, dried 1 tsp= 3,600
Turmeric, ground 1 tsp= 3,500
Cumin seed 1 tsp= 1,600
Curry powder 1 tsp= 1,000
Mustard seed, yellow 1 tsp= 1,000
Chili powder 1 tsp= 600
Pepper, black 1 tsp= 600
Basil, dried 1 tsp= 500
Ginger, ground 1 tsp= 500

Three Simple Diet Tweaks to Keep You Healthy, Happy, and On Track From Breakfast Through That Evening Snack

Mexican Hot Chocolate

 

It's no secret that I try to eat healthy. 

But, there's only so much time in the morning to prepare something that's as tasty as it is healthy.

And I'm no saint.  I love chocolate, but I have to keep it far away from my kitchen cupboards.  There's no way I can stop at a tiny square of a dark chocolate bar.

And in the evening, when I'm watching TV or a video, I sometimes want something tastier than an apple for a snack.  I want a little crunch.  And yes, a bit of salt.  A tiny bit.

This is going to sound crazy, but these three simple, delicious, time-saving food tweaks have made my mornings a breeze, brought me a mid-day boost, and satisfied my snack cravings at night.  You've got to give them a try!

And the best part.  Each of these foods comes with impeccable research credentials.  But frankly, they taste so good, I wouldn't care if they didn't.

1.  Steel cut oats.  Put up a double-batch of crock-pot fruited steel cut oatmeal on Sunday night, and have breakfast ready-to-go all week. 

2.  Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate.  Late afternoon or in the evening make my gourmet Mexican cocoa with cayenne & cinnamon & you won't miss high-cal chocolate bars.

3.  Popcorn.  Get yourself a hot-air popcorn popper, and hit the popcorn with 4 or 5 sprays of canola or olive oil and as it fills up a huge bowl--sprinkle with a few shakes of super-fine popcorn salt, and you won't miss the microwave or oil-made popcorn at all.

Overnight Crock-Pot Fruited Steel Cut Oatmeal

After making this oatmeal for months, it finally dawned on me that if I doubled the recipe, I'd have enough for breakfast 7 mornings a week--in a microwave minute!

If you are used to making steel cut oats on the stove, let me tell you--the taste doesn't even come close to the crockpot version that slowly cooks for 8 hours.

As for the health benefits--Dr. David Jenkins' 2008 JAMA study found that high fiber low-glycemic foods--like steel-cut oats--were superior to even whole grains, like whole-wheat bread and brown rice when it comes to keeping the blood sugar stable. 

Stable blood sugar not only keeps you full, is great for preventing type-2 diabetes, but it also prevents the kind of spikes that damage the dentate gyrus--the memory center of the brain.  Click here

And for added measure throw in the benefits of the soluble fiber of oatmeal that removes damaging cholesterol--and the dried fruit that is great for bone health.  If you're scratching your head over the fruit-thing--read Dr. Amy Lanou's research.

And here's a new one to me.  Oatmeal also enhances the body's immune system, is anti-inflammatory, and has more protein than most cereals.  (according to Jonny Bowden, Ph.D. in The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth)

My Creamy Crock-Pot Oatmeal with Lots of Dried Fruit   enough for 7-8 servings.

Cooker:  3 quart
Setting and Cook Time:  Low for 8-9 hours. 

1 1/2 cups steel-cut oats
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
1/4 cup dried currants
1 tsp. Trader Joe's pumpkin or apple pie seasoning (or a little cinnamon & nutmeg)
5 1/2 cups water 
1 cup almond, hazelnut or soy milk

1. Lightly spray your cooker with cooking oil spray to prevent sticking.
2. Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker. Mix up well.  Cover and cook on LOW for 8-9 hours, until thick & creamy.
3. Wake up to delicious cooked oatmeal.  The smell is amazing!  Refrigerate the leftovers for later in the week.  Just scoop out a serving from the the fridge & microwave for a couple of minutes.

A happy oatmeal surprise.  My entire life I've never eaten breakfast first thing in the morning.  I'd get up at six, and never eat breakfast until 8:30 or 9.  With this oatmeal I've started to eat breakfast first thing in the morning, and to my surprise, I'm actually less hungry throughout the entire day.  It keeps me full and energetic until lunch-time.  I can't explain that one!

Spicy Sweet Mexican Hot Chocolate

About 3 years ago my husband, my college friend Babs, and I went to New York City chocolate shop called The Chocolate Bar and indulged in hot chocolate with chili peppers.  I loved it!   So, a couple months ago when I spotted this Aztec Hot Chocolate Mix at Whole Foods I decided to give it a try.  Of course it was delicious, but who needed the sugar in it?  Certainly not me.

I decided to try my hand at making my own, and it tasted even better.  I tested it on my non-hot-chocolate drinking 26 year-old son & husband, and they both gave it a big thumbs up.

And the health benefits are almost too good to be true!

• Cocoa powder lowers inflammation, increases HDLs, and has the potential to slow or prevent atherosclerosis.  This comes from straight from a 2009 Spanish study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  Cocoa has more flavonoids than tea or red wine and they improve lipid profiles and insulin sensitivity, lower blood pressure (click here), reduce platelet activity, and keep the lining of blood vessels flexible and healthy.
• In a 12 week study the skin of women drinking a daily cup of cocoa containing 2 TBS of high-flavonoid cocoa powder was significantly smoother, retained more moisture, and had better circulation.  Click here for the article
• Cocoa gives you all the benefits of chocolate without the fat & calories.  Dr. Susan Kleiner, author of the Good Mood Diet is a big fan of drinking hot cocoa in the evening.
• Drinking 8-10 ounces of hot cocoa fills up your tummy far better than 1 ounce of chocolate can, and nips hunger in the bud.
• Cayenne pepper contains a phytochemical called capsaicin that's linked to weight loss, pain relief, & cardiovascular health.  A 2009 Danish study even confirmed that it suppresses appetite by creating feelings of satiety.
• Cinnamon is known to lower blood glucose and LDL cholesterol.

Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate   Serves one

1 heaping TBS. of high quality non-dutched (it retains the flavonoids) unsweetened cocoa.  I like Ghiradelli's, & Scharffen Berger's

1 packet of stevia (I like Stevia in the Raw) or sweetener of your choice

1 tiny (or not so tiny) pinch of cayenne powder.  The best way to do this is to shake some in the palm of your hand and then pinch some.

A few shakes of cinnamon

About a tablespoon of very hot water

1 1/4 cups of hazelnut, almond, or soy milk  *Note: my taste tests show that Pacific brand's Hazelnut milk makes the best-tasting Mexican hot cocoa.  The almond milk just didn't have the depth of taste.

Mix the cocoa, stevia, and spices in a nice-sized mug.  Add some very hot water and mix it all up.

Add the milk and mix.  A tiny whisk works great for this.

Microwave until nice and warm.

A happy cocoa surprise.  This is so satisfying as a late afternoon snack or an evening dessert.  I was completely surprised at how tasty and satisfying this cocoa can be, and I'm not even missing chocolate.

Hot-Air Popper Popcorn

About 6 months ago I decided to pick up an Orville Redenbacher Hot Air Popcorn Popper for $20 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond with a 20% off coupon.

Frankly, I ditched my original hot air popper in the 70's because the popcorn it made was so bland.  But, my friend Howie told me about his technique of grinding up salt in a coffee grinder to get a powdery mix that sticks just fine to the popcorn if you spray it a few times with canola or olive oil spray.

Then my husband perfected the whole technique, and he picked up some Morton Super Fine Popcorn Salt, so we could ditch the "grinding step".

Here's the Snack-Maven's technique

1.  Measure 1/4 or 1/2 cup of popcorn & pour it into your popper

2.  Use the largest bowl you have--and if it has a lid it's a plus for better "salt distribution"

3.  As the popped corn starts to fill the bowl spray it with a quick shot of "oil spray", and then a quick shake of the salt.  We usually end up with about 5 sprays and 5 shakes.  I actually measured out how much salt comes out, and it ends up less than 140 mgs of salt, which is 6% of your daily recommended intake--and that's if you eat a whole bowl yourself. 

4.  If you have a lid, give the bowl a nice shake.

Six cups of hot-air popcorn is about 120 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 4 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, and 10% iron.

Health Benefits:

• Rich in insoluble fiber to keep your digestive system moving
• Eating 3 cups of air-popped popcorn (not microwaved) twice a week can reduce your risk of diverticular disease by 28%.  Click here for the study
• Popcorn has THE HIGHEST LEVELS of healthy antioxidants of all whole grain snack foods.  Click here for the study

Happy popcorn surprise:  Who knew how satisfying and tasty hot-air popped popcorn could be--not to mention how healthy it is.

 

 

Eat, Sleep, Exercise. The Rules. Michael Pollan, Dr. Mark Hyman, and Dr. Oz.

 

If I want to be on top of my game, energetic, happy, nice, patient, healthy, and clear-headed, I need to EAT HEALTHY FOOD, GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP, AND EXERCISE.  It's that simple.

I'm also a sucker for lists.  So, when I came across these three "Rules Lists" I wanted to "capture them" for future reference.

• Food Rules: Your Dietary Do's and Don'ts, by Michael Pollan, New York Times Magazine Food Issue, October 11, 2009.  Earlier in the year Michael posted a request for readers' rules on Tara Parker-Pope's Well blog.  He received 2,500 responses, and offered his favorite 20 in this issue.  Click here for Pollan's full list.  He has recently published a short-useful-funny paperback--with 64 short simple rules--Food Rules.  An Eater's Manual based on his now famous saying, "Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly Plants."  For a short interview about the book, click here.  I've provided a "mash-up" of my favorites. Some from NYT's readers and some from Michael's book.

• Sleep Tips:  How to Sleep Better, Lose Weight, and Live Longer, by Mark Hyman, MD, practicing physician and pioneer in functional medicine.  Huffington Post, Jan. 9, 2010.  Click here for the full list.

• Realistic Resolutions From Dr. Oz, by Tara Parker-Pope, Well Blog, New York Times Dec. 29, 2009.  Click here for the full list.

Eat.  Michael Pollan's Food Rules

 1.  Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human being would keep in the pantry.

2.  If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.

3.  Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.  Aim for a pound or more of fruits and vegetables a day.

4.  Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.  And when & if you do--Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.

5.  Eat your colors.

6.  Eat well-grown food from healthy soil.

7.  Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacteria or fungi.  Many cultures swear by the health benefits of fermented foods: yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, natto, and tempeh.

8.  Pay more, eat less.  

9.  Eat less.  Eat slowly.  Stop before you're full.

10.  Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods.

11.  Try not to eat alone.

12.  Cook.  

13.  Don't leave the table until you've finished your fruit.  "My parents are both from Italy & one of our family rules was that you could not leave the table until you had finished your fruit.  'Non si puo lasciare la tavolo fino che hai finito la frutta.' It was a great way to incorporate fruit into our diets and also helped satiate our sweet tooths, keeping us away from less healthful sweets."  Marta C. Larusso

14.  "Don't eat anything that took more energy to ship than to grow."  Carrie Cizauskas

15.  "Never eat anything that is pretending to be something else; e.g. 'textured vegetable protein' or veggie burgers (fake meat), no artificial sweeteners, no margarine (fake butter), no 'low fat' sour cream no turkey bacon, no 'chocolate-flavor sauce' that doesn't contain chocolate, no 'quorn'.  If I want something that tastes like meat or butter, I would rather have the real thing than some chemical concoction pretending to be more healthful."  Sonya Legg  (I'm still sticking with my Field Roast sausages and Gardein.  See rule #22)

16.  "Make and take your own lunch to work.  My father has always done this, and so have I.  It saves money, and you know what you are eating."  Hope Donovan Rider  (love this one!)

17.  "If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple then you are not hungry."  Emma Fogt  (needless to say--this one is my favorite!)

18.  "The Chinese have a saying, 'Eat until you are seven-tenths full and save the other three-tenths for hunger'.  That way, food always tastes good, and you don't eat too much."  Nancy Ni

19.  "One of my top rules for eating comes from economics.  The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility reminds me that each additional bite is generally less satisfying than the previous bite.  This helps me slow down, savor the first bites, stop eating sooner."  Laura Kelley

20.  "No second helpings, no matter how scrumptious."  Karen Harmin

21.  "It's better to pay the grocer than the doctor' was the saying that my Italian grandmother would frequently use to remind us of the love and attention to detail that went into her cooking."  John Forti.

22.  Break the rules once in awhile!

 

Sleep.  Dr. Mark Hyman's Sleep Rules

Dr. Hyman recommends these "rules" to get us back to our natural sleep rhythms.  "It may take weeks or months, but using these tools in a coordinated way will eventually reset our biological rhythms."  Hyman learned the hard way that even doctors can't compromise on sleep.

1.  Prioritize sleep, or suffer the consequences.

2.  Wind down, dim the lights, reduce mental stimuli, get off the computer two hours before sleep!  Do something more mentally relaxing. Take a little "holiday" before getting to bed in order to get your system physically and psychologically ready for sleep.  I've found this practice makes a major difference in my sleep quality.

3.  Practice the regular rhythms of sleep--go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.  Every single time I have to change my regular wake-up schedule in order to start work at 7:00 am, I have a terrible night's sleep!

4.  Use your bed for sleep and romance only--not reading or television.

5.  Create total darkness and quiet--consider using eye shades, earplugs, or a white noise machine.

6.  Avoid caffeine--it may seem to help you stay awake but it actually makes your sleep worse.

7.  Avoid alcohol--it helps you get to sleep but causes interruptions in sleep and poor-quality sleep.

8.  Get regular exposure to daylight for at least 20 minutes daily--the light from the sun enters your eyes and triggers your brain to release specific chemicals and hormones like melatonin that are vital to healthy sleep, mood, and aging.  Consider using a special light in the morning, like the Philips goLite BLU in the winter.

9.  Eat no later than three hours before bed--eating a heavy meal prior to bed will lead to a bad night's sleep.

10.  Don't exercise vigorously after dinner--it excites the body and makes it more difficult to get to sleep.

11.  Write your worries down--one hour before bed, write down the things that are causing you anxiety and make plans for what you might have to do the next day to reduce your worry.  It will free up your mind and energy to move into deep and restful sleep.

12.  Take a hot salt/soda/aromatherapy bath--raising your body temperature before bed helps to induce sleep. A hot bath also relaxes your muscles and reduces tension physically and psychologically. By adding one-and-a-half to one cup of Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) and one-and-a-half to one cup of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to your bath, you will gain the benefits of magnesium absorbed through your skin and the alkaline-balancing effects of the baking soda, both of which help with sleep.  This was something I remember both my parents used to do, and neither had sleeping problems.

13.  Get a massage or stretch before bed--this helps relax the body making it easier to fall asleep.

14.  Warm your middle--this raises your core temperature and helps trigger the proper chemistry for sleep. Either a hot water bottle, heating pad, or warm body can do the trick.  My heated mattress pad works well for pre-heating my bed in the winter.

15.  Avoid medications that interfere with sleep--these include sedatives (these are used to treat insomnia, but ultimately lead to dependence and disruption of normal sleep rhythms and architecture), antihistamines, stimulants, cold medication, steroids, and headache medication that contains caffeine (such as Fioricet).

16.  Use herbal therapies--try passionflower, or 320 mg to 480 mg of valerian (valeriana officinalis) root extract standardized to 0.2 percent valerenic acid one hour before bed.  On occasion I've tried the valerian/hops combo and lemon balm recommended by herbal expert Dr. Tieraona Low Dog and they worked well.  Click here to read more. 

17.  Take 200 to 400 mg of magnesium citrate or glycinate before bed--this relaxes the nervous system and muscles. If you already take a magnesium supplement, just take it before bed, instead of in the morning.

18.  Other supplements and herbs can be helpful in getting some shuteye--try calcium, theanine (an amino acid from green tea), GABA, 5-HTP, and magnolia.

19.  Try one to three mg of melatonin at night--melatonin helps stabilize your sleep rhythms. I've taken melatonin on occasion, and it definitely helped me.

20.  Get a relaxation, meditation or guided imagery CD--any of these may help you get to sleep.

 

Exercise.  (and Eat and Sleep) Realistic Rules From Dr. Oz

Dr. Oz needs no introduction  This short list of 7 rules covers all the basics.

1.  Commit to family night.  Resolve to eat as a family at least once a week.  My kids are all grown-up, but this rule still works for empty-nesters.  For kids, its benefit is in healthier eating, home-cooking, and conversation. Research also shows it lowers the risk of behaviors like drug abuse and alcohol use.  Oz recommends cooking with your kids.  Works for empty-nesters, too--and when the "kids" are visiting!

2.  Do seven minutes of yoga a day.  We  can all spare seven minutes a day.  Dr. Timothy McCall, the medical editor of Yoga Journal, says 15 minutes of yoga done daily at home trumps going to one or less classes a week.  Oz advises if you haven't tried yoga, try one class to understand what it's all about.  "It centers me and allows me to loosen my limbs up so I don't have nagging small injuries."  I think yoga is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

3.  Go to bed earlier.  To figure out what time you need to go to bed--choose a wake-up time, and count back seven and a half hours.  No compromises.  Oz strongly advises turning off all electronics one half hour before bedtime.  He never sacrifices this rule-ever. 

4.  Always keep nuts or a healthful snack in your purse or pocket.  It's the key to prevent overeating.

5.  Make a space in front of your television.  Since very few of us are ready to give up TV, Oz recommends that we "use it" to improve our health.  Do stretches, use your treadmill or exercise bike, lift weights or do core exercise while you watch TV.  That's where I do my core exercises.  It's where my husband lifts weights.

6.  Floss.  It reduces the risk for heart attack, inflammation, and periodontal disease.  Just do it!

7.  Give it two weeks.