Saturday, April 4, 2009

Salad with left over pork roast and mango salsa


This salad is made with left over pork roast, but you could very well make it with left over chicken or fish. The mango salsa is really what makes this salad special.

I'm not going to give you ingredients or instructions for the salad, just make your own with what you have on hand..all you really need is the recipe for the mango salsa.

Ingredients
1 mango, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 red onion, chopped in small cubes
1/4 of red bell pepper, cut in small cubes
1 hand full of cilantro, chopped
1/2 inch of fresh ginger root, minced
1/2-1 lime, juiced (depending on how you like it)
1 splash of olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Mix all ingredients in medium size bowl, toss and serve.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Cucumber, asparagus and mango salad



This recipe would work very well with salmon, pork or chicken. It's very summery and fresh and of course healthy!

Ingredients
1 small cucumber, sliced thinly with a mandolin
10 asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces
half a corn on the cub, kernels removed
1/2 mango, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsp toasted almonds or peanuts

Direction
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, toss dressing (slowly, you might not need the whole thing)over veggies and transfer to serving platter.

Dressing
1/4 cup of Marukan rice vinegar (if you can't find the Marukan rice vinegar, you can use any other brand but you might need to add some natural sugar (agave syrup) - like 1 tbsp- since Marukan is a sweet vinegar generally used to season sushi . Unless you live in a very remote area you shouldn't have any problem finding it.)
2 tbsp of sesame oil
2 tbsp of water
1 tsp crushed chili pepper

I suggest you taste the dressing and adjust the ratio rice vinegar/sesame oil to your liking, depending on how acidic you like your dressing.

What does “Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil” Mean To You?


Hydrogenated vegetable oils (HVO), now referred to as “trans fatty acid” bearers,
went mainstream in the 1920’s with a wonderful new substance, margarine, advertised as
being a beneficial substitute for artery hardening butter. Not only have the butter and
dairy farmers taken a financial hit, but national green group “Sustainable Enterprises’ ”
researchers state that cardiac arrest has been going up ever since (also animal studies
prove cancer from HVOs).

Today, it is almost impossible to go to a supermarket and find a food that does
not contain Hydrogenated vegetable oils or its sweet industrial counterpart, high fructose
corn syrup (HFCS). Both of these substances were created by big industry to promote a
food’s “shelf appeal” and it’s “shelf life.” These industry buzz words unfortunately do
not translate into health promoting foods as you will learn the process of hydrogenation
and refining oils renders them toxic to the human body (read on oils).
Hydrogenation requires the heating of oils in the presence of Raney’s Nickel (50%
nickel, 50% aluminum) at temperatures above 400 degrees F for up to 8 hours. This new
substance not only cannot be properly digested or metabolized, but it depletes our bodies
of mineral and vitamin stores, adds aluminum associated with Alzheimer’s disease and
may even facilitate cancer as animal models have shown. Dr. Erasmus calls these refined
oil products, “protein-less, de-mineralized, de-vitaminized, fiberless, empty calories
which are nutritionally equivalent to refined white sugars (read on soda) and white flour,
which facilitates fatty degenerative diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, kidney
and liver degeneration.”

Some of our best doctors and notable researchers, Christiane Northrup, MD,
Andrew Weil, MD, Mary Enig, PhD, Paul Pitchford, Udo Erasmus, PhD, Hulda Clark,
PhD, ND, just to name a few, believe that these trans fatty acids disrupt immune function
and can even cause cancer. Linda Page ND, in her book, Healthy Healing, (1997) lists
daily consumption of margarine as a contributing factor to essential fatty acid deficiency
which is linked to cell membrane insufficiency, decreased hormone production and nerve
and immune function impairment. Samuel Epstein, MD states that cancer rates are up
40% (children’s brain cancer) t o 200%(multiple myeloma) since the 1950’s due to
innumerable chemical additives in our consumer products.
This one is sneaky though, so you must read your labels even if you think the
food is a natural or healthy food. Even regular olive or corn oils can have trans fatty acids
if they have been refined (read on oils), so again, check those labels and use only
unrefined oils.

In 1999, the FDA proposed that trans fatty acid amounts be added to the
nutrition label on foods. This will at least give the consumer the knowledge of its presence
and have the ability to choose whether or not they want to eat these biologically toxic
substances. Of course, neither the FDA nor the big industries will take these disease
causing substances off the supermarket shelves. Big business has too much money
invested to even think about protecting the health of the nation, but at least the FDA is
hinting that these hydrogenated oils are not healthy to eat. Paul Pitchford stands firmly
that, “refined oils should not be ingested,” period.

Remember, that you should use your strongest political power by making
thoughtful consumer decisions:

If you don’t buy it, they won’t make it!