By Jasmin Schellenberg –
HEALTHY SNACKS AND WHY –
Sriracha Hummus
Flavourful, loaded with micronutrients and with just the right hint of spice. Fantastic served with fresh vegetables. Great snack.
Ingredients
2 cups dry chickpeas
¼ teaspoon baking soda
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2½ teaspoons finely ground sea salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ cup roasted sesame tahini
¾ cup sriracha (or chili sauce)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup water
Method
Pour the chickpeas into a bowl, cover with warm water by two inches, and then stir in the baking soda. Let the chickpeas soak, covered, for 18 to 24 hours. Drain them and rinse them well.
Dump the soaked chickpeas into a stockpot or Dutch oven, cover them with plenty of water, and boil them over high heat until softened, about 1½ to 2 hours. Drain the chickpeas, and allow them to cool to room temperature.
Place the chickpeas, garlic cloves, salt, smoked paprika, tahini, sriracha, olive oil, and water into a food processor, and process them together until they form a smooth, velvety paste.
Serve immediately with vegetables, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
NUTRIENT DENSE MEAL
Crustless Quiche (serves 4)
Ingredients
4 cups of seasonal vegetables including onions, cubed
6-8 eggs, whipped
½ cup shredded cheese
salt &pepper
Method
Place cubed vegetables in a greased casserole dish.
Sprinkle with salt & pepper.
Pour in eggs and cheese.
Bake at 175 degrees C for 35 minutes, or until golden.
Great with salad and sausages.
Enjoy!
MYTHS UNVEILED
The toxic stress cycle.
The basic cause of toxic stress, in most cases, is improper eating habits. Many diseases start on the plate. Choosing commercially grown meats, veggies, and processed food increases the toxin levels even more. Improperly digested foods become toxic in the bowel, congest the liver, and then stress the kidneys. Once the kidneys fail to process the toxins, the cycle continues through all the organs.
Poor function of the digestive system results in the inability to properly digest food. This is often due to lack of enzymes, improper chewing, processed food choices, and too much food. The colon can’t function without the proper enzyme activity; food remains undigested, can’t be absorbed or eliminated, causing gas and putrefaction, resulting in toxic stress. Overuse of antibiotics destroys the beneficial flora in the colon, causing a greater toxic load from anaerobic bacteria, fungus, and candida. The toxins from poor digestion travel then through to the liver and kidneys. The liver’s key function is to maintain the immune system. Despite the phenomenal amount of work the liver does, there are limits to what it can accomplish. Whatever the liver can’t handle will get dumped back into the bloodstream to be processed by the kidneys and urinary bladder. If they fail to do their job effectively, long-term metabolic disturbances occur.
What toxins the kidneys can’t handle travel through the bloodstream to the lungs (here, asthma can occur). What toxins the lungs can’t eliminate stay in the blood. Thus the circulatory system is now affected. Because there is a lack of oxygen in the circulatory system, not enough oxygen gets to the cells to burn sugars, proteins, and fats for energy. Now the lymph becomes congested with waste materials from the cells, resulting in swollen lymph nodes, passing greater stress onto the spleen.
From here on the toxic waste gets passed on to the heart. The heart needs lipids (special fat molecules) for its proper function. If the fats in the body are toxic due to toxic blood, the heart can be damaged. From here, the muscles and soft tissues are not getting proper oxygen for doing their job and are getting loaded down with old lactic acid, becoming very painful showing the stress in stiff muscles.
The nerve flow to all organs is affected, such as thyroid and the adrenals, which are getting overworked. The endocrine system becomes depleted both nutritionally and energetically, which in turn prevents the manufacturing of sufficient enzymes for digestion and the toxic stress cycle starts again.
How to break this cycle? Simple detox programs like a drink of 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water 2-3 times per day, kombucha, eating sauerkraut or kimchi with every meal (just a forkful will do), kefir, yogourt, and fermented bread and grains are all very beneficial for your digestion.
Chewing your food well before swallowing is also very important and gives the brain time to let you know that in fact you had enough and thus are less likely to overeat. Know where your food comes from and what the ingredients are. Stay away from processed foods as well as artificial colours and dyes.
Choose organic food over conventionally grown food, avoiding the extra herbicides, pesticides, other chemicals, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and growth hormones. Organic food contains up to 69 per cent more antioxidants (which benefits disease prevention: Mercola).
Choose grass-finished beef rather than feedlot beef where GMO corn is force-fed. Remember when detoxing to avoid alcohol and caffeine-containing drinks to aid the process.
If you have a serious problem read the book, The Healing Triad by Dr. Jack Tips. He recommends several detoxing programs made by Systemic Formulas.
A WALK THROUGH YOUR PANTRY:
GET RID OF: Processed foods, artificial colours, and dyes.
REPLACE WITH: Fresh, organic, whole ingredients for cooking your meals from scratch, making sure no GMOs, fertilizers, pesticides, and growth hormones are added.
Brought to you by Jasmin Schellenberg
Inspired by and resourced from www.westonaprice.org and the book, The Healing Triad by Dr Jack Tips. For “Nourishing our Children” newsletters of the past visit www.thegreengazette.ca.
