There is a way to make healthy fries, and that is right at home in your own kitchen.  There are several advantages to making fries at home, such as:

• You can bake them (instead of them being deep fried)
• You can choose from a variety of different potatoes like Yukon golden, red potatoes that will give them different flavors.
• You can keep the skins on for extra fiber (scrub well first)
• Customize your fries with your own spices, try Italian seasoning, rosemary or Cajun spice
• You can control how much oil you use.  I prefer Virgin Olive Oil on my fries, but you can use butter also.

Here is my recipe:

Homemade Baked Fries

What you need:

10 medium red potatoes (washed thoroughly)
1-2 tbsp Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (or rosemary)
½ tsp of sea salt (grey or Himalayan)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut washed potatoes into thin wedges or thin fries
Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil in baking pan
Spread potatoes on pan evenly
Sprinkle spices, salt and remaining oil over potatoes
Bake for 30-35 minutes turning twice so they cook evenly

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Taste these and let us know what you think! On this blog, you’ll get commentluv. This is a great vehicle to leave a link back to your own blog too!

Until next time,

Stephanie

Hopefully you are now ready to find out what are the top 10 best foods to alkalize your body. This is the final installment in our special three part series on how we can help alkalize and keep our body in the optimal pH. You will find part 1 of the series here and part two of the series by clicking here.

Why are we so acidic?

So what makes our pH levels go off?  The level of our pH is greatly affected by our diet as certain foods create acid in the body whereas other foods alkalize the body.  The modern diet, sometimes called the SAD diet (standard American diet), is full of sugar, processed foods, coffee and fast foods.  Many of these convenience foods are highly acidic and force the body to scramble to balance or “buffer” its pH to a normal level.  The body does this by tapping into its alkalizing mineral warehouse – your bones and teeth.  Modern health messaging emphasizes putting extra calcium into our bodies, but forgets why the calcium is being leached in the first place.  When the body is acidified it is also allowing less oxygen to get to its cells. If our bodies are constantly in an acidic state, we are in a state known as “Acidosis”.  The best way to counteract this state, is to eat more alkalizing or alkaline foods, which leads us to step three…

Step 3: Add Alkaline Foods

The most alkalizing foods you can eat are vegetables, especially greens.  Most people barely eat spinach salad, so introducing food like kale, collards and Swiss chard can be strange at first.  But with the abundance of recipes on the internet, there is one out there that your family will like.  One great way to eat greens is in a stir-fry with garlic and ginger on top of brown or white rice.

Top Ten Alkaline Foods:

• Swiss Chard, Dandelion greens
• Spinach, Kale
• Almonds
• Avocado
• Cucumber
• Beets
• Figs and Apricots

Another great way to alkalize you body was mentioned in a recent blog post and that is the healthy hot lemon drink. Although you might think of lemons as acidic, once they are digested by our saliva they become extremely alkaline.  Check out this past blog for a great recipe on how you can make your daily alkalizing drink.

Hopefully by now you have some great ideas on how to make your body more alkaline.  By making small changes like drinking more water, eating more vegetables and reducing the amount of acidic foods in your diet, you will start to make your body more alkaline.  By creating an alkaline environment in your bodies, you will it maintain balance, fight of disease and achieve its optimal health. But most importantly, your body will thank you with more energy and vitality!

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Let us know how you are doing! We love getting feedback! And here on this blog, you’ll get commentluv.  Don’t forget to leave a link back to your own blog when you leave your comment!

Until next time,

Stephanie

Part 2: Reducing the Most Acidic Foods

In Part 1, Step 1 of our last blog, we looked at how pH works as a measurement of alkalinity in the body. Now that you are rehydrated, you might be wondering what foods you should avoid in your diet to reduce acidity in your body.  Some foods are acidic in the body and some are alkaline, and the food choices we make have a huge effect on how we feel. This acidic state can make us feel tired, lethargic, nausea, malaise, aches and pains, headaches, joint pain and even gain weight.

Step 2: Remove Acidic Foods

The second step in keeping a healthy and alkaline body is to reduce acid-forming foods and replace them with alkalizing ones.

The Most Acidic Foods:

• Meat and meat Products
• Dairy products (cheese, milk)
• Sugar
• High fructose corn syrup
• Coffee
• Alcohol and alcoholic beverages
• Carbonated Soft Drinks
• Refined wheat products (white flour, white bread, white pasta)

The main acidic foods are meat, sugar, white flour, and stimulants like coffee and alcohol.  Try reducing your meat consumption and eating more fruits and vegetables.  If you are a big meat eater, try one vegetarian meal per week, it can make a big difference.

Healthier Substitutions

• Sugar is extremely acidic, replace it with healthier alternatives like raw honey or maple syrup
• Coffee is also a highly acidic food and can be replaced with green or herbal teas.
• Carbonated soft drinks can be replaced with water or fresh fruit or vegetable juice.
• Instead of white flour and white pasta, opt for whole wheat or spelt, as whole grain flours are more alkaline.

What’s your pH?

• The best way to start is to measure your body’s pH.  That way you will have a baseline of how acidic you are and how your body responds to changes.  If you are interested in learning more about pH, visit a health food store and you can buy pH strips that will help you measure your levels and see how they change as you make healthy changes to your diet.

Watch for the last installment of this three part series later this week, where we look at the top ten alkaline foods that you can add to your healthy lifestyle.

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We’d love your feedback. Here on this blog, you’ll get commentluv. What a great opportunity to leave a link back to your own blog too!

Until next time,

Stephanie

pH: the measurement of acidity and alkalinity

For those of us who have forgotten high school chemistry, the pH scale is used to measure the acidity or alkalinity of a substance.  It measures the potential hydrogen in a substance. The pH scale ranges from 1 to 14; levels 1.0 to 6.9 are acidic, 7 is neutral and 7.1 to 14.0 is alkaline.  Most parts of the body want an alkaline condition for optimal health.  But due to our modern diet of sugar, processed foods most people will find that they are too acidic.  This acidic state can make us feel tired, lethargic, nausea, malaise, aches and pains, headaches, joint pain and even weight gain.  Acidic environments are also where microorganisms thrive. The best way to alkalize the body is to drink more water and to add alkalizing foods to the body.

Step 1: Rehydrate

Remember, our bodies are 70% water, so the first step is to rehydrate.  This will help our body to eliminate acid waste and improve the flow and secretion of fluids.  Many people have poor digestion due to lack of fluid intake, which can cause sluggish digestion and constipation.  Our digestive system needs water to produce enzymes, fluids and keep things moving.

Recipe for keeping hydrated

• Buy a funky stainless steel or glass water bottle for you and each member of your family.  By having water with you at all times, you will get in the habit of drinking more water.
• Start your day with a large glass of room temperature water, this will rehydrate you after sleeping and  help your body detoxify. Or, you can revisit a recent post about starting your day with warm water and lemon – another way to hydrate and alkalize your body all at the same time!

Stay tuned for part two in our series where we look at the most acidic foods, how to reduce our consumption of them and how to add healthier substitutions.

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Send us your feedback too! We love getting comments. And here on this blog, you’ll get commentluv. This is a great way to leave a link back to your own blog.

Until next time,

Stephanie

The idea of eating chicken soup when you are sick is not just an “old wives’ tale”; it is actually a traditional medicine in many cultures.  When chicken broth is made from scratch, it contains an abundance of nutrition in an easy to digest format.  By simmering the chicken over a long period of time, you are getting minerals from the bones and amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). This makes it a highly digestible food, thus making it ideal for sick people. In this blog post, I’ll give you a recipe for making your own chicken broth.

Stephanie’s Tips:

• It is best to start with the cleanest meat possible, free of anti-biotics and hormones.
• I usually start with a whole chicken, but you can also use a quarter or a half-chicken for smaller yields.
• Cook a large batch, and freeze it into portions in freezer bags and use it as a base for all of your favorite soups.

Homemade Chicken Broth Recipe

What You’ll Need:

1 whole chicken (make sure to remove gizzards – this is the organ meat that may come with the poultry)
2 tbsp Poultry spice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 large carrots (coarsely chopped)
3 stalks celery (coarsely chopped)
1 large onion (coarsely chopped)

 Directions:

1. Rinse chicken well.
2. Place in a large stock pot and fill with water until ¾ of chicken is covered.
3. Add spices and vegetables.
4. Bring to a boil and skim off any froth that comes to the top.
5. Turn heat to minimum and simmer for 4-24 hours.  Stir mixture occasionally so that chicken eventually falls apart.
6. Pour liquid through a strainer remove the meat and vegetables and put the broth aside.  Make sure to remove all bones.  You can add some of the meat back in if desired.
7. Let the broth cool off and remove fat that congeals on top.
8. You will be left with a clear liquid that can be used immediately or store in freezer bags, Tupperware or ice cube trays.  This broth is a flavorful base that you can use for all your soups, curries and stews.

This is a great recipe to make on a Sunday afternoon when you are going to be home all day.  The longer it simmers the more rich and flavourful it will be.

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What is your favorite way to make homemade broth?  I’d love to hear from you. And here on this blog, you’ll get commentluv. This is an opportunity for you to leave a link back to your own blog!

Until next time,

Stephanie

One of the easiest ways to add a gentle detox or cleanse into your routine, is with lemon.  Although lemon is thought of as an acidic fruit, it is highly alkalizing once it goes into your body.  This means that it helps your body to be in a state that is more balanced and health-creating.

The modern diet contains many processed, sugary, caffeinated and fried foods that make our bodies acidic.  An acidic body is more prone to disease and makes us feel tired, moody and unmotivated.  Alkalizing foods also help the liver, which is the main organ that has to detoxify the majority of the toxins in the body.  By helping your liver, you give your whole body a boost!  Other alkalizing foods are vegetables, especially green leafy veggies.

Hot Lemon Drink Recipe

1 cup of warm water
Juice of ½ of lemon
1 tsp of honey or maple syrup

So try starting your day with warm water and fresh lemon juice.  You can add honey or maple syrup to sweeten.  This is also a great drink after a heavy meal that will give your digestion a boost.

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Your body will be sure to thank you!  Give it a try and let us know what you think! We love getting feedback. And here on this blog, you’ll get commentluv so don’t forget to leave a link back to your own blog when you comment.

Until next time,

Stephanie

It’s that time of year again, where it seems that everyone is coming down with the common cold.  Although there is no “cure” for it, there are things that can help boost your immune system and soothe your symptoms.  One of the best traditional herbal remedies for a cold is ginger tea.  Ginger comes from the root (or rhizome) of the plant Zingiber officinal, and is in the same family as turmeric and cardamom.  Its use originates in South Asia and China where it has been used both as a culinary spice and a traditional medicinal for over 2,000 years.

Ginger tea has also been used traditionally for the following:

• To improve digestion and for digestive upsets
• Colds and flu-like symptoms
• Nausea – studies have found that ginger is more effective than over-the-counter drugs!
• Menstrual Cramps

Making Ginger Tea

It is very simple to make ginger tea from the fresh root.  It is available in the produce department of most grocery stores.

Here is how you make it:

Take a 1-2 inch piece of ginger root and peel it.  Slice it into thin pieces. In a small pot, bring 2 cups of water and the ginger pieces to a boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. You can let it steep longer if you want a stronger taste. Strain out the liquid and add honey to taste. Sip slowly in a big mug and curl up with a warm blanket.

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What is your favorite herbal tea? We’d love to hear from you. Don’t forget to leave a back to your own blog via our commentluv plugin.

Until next time,

Stephanie

Why is it a superfood?

The unique thing about quinoa is that it is also gluten-free so it is a great complement for those on gluten-free diets.  It has regained its popularity in recent times for its high nutritional value – it is very high in protein, but what makes it very special, is that it is a complete protein.  This means that it contains all of the essential amino acids that humans need.  There are few plant foods that are complete proteins.  This makes it an excellent choice for vegetarians and athletes and people who generally want to be healthy.  Quinoa is also rich in magnesium, fiber, iron and manganese.  It is similar to rice in texture and has a soft nutty flavor.  It comes in several varieties including white, red and black.

How to Cook

Quinoa is very easy to cook.  It cooks similar to rice, and cooks perfectly in a rice cooker.

1. Rinse well with 1-2 changes of warm water.
2. Add 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
3. Turn heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring regularly.
4. Serve immediately or keep in fridge for 2-3 days.
5. If you need to reheat, just sauté lightly in a non-stick skillet with olive oil

Quinoa Greek Salad

Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa
½ cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ cup cucumber, diced
½ cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp black olives, chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

1. In a small glass, combine olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice and whisk with a fork.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all remaining ingredients and toss.  Drizzle with dressing.
3. Serves 2 lunch portions.

Other Recipe Ideas:

• Substitute quinoa in your favorite rice dishes
• Serve with curry dishes
• Cook as a hot cereal for breakfast
• Add to soups and salads

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What is your favorite way to eat quinoa? We’d love your feedback. Here on this blog, you’ll get commentluv. This is a great opportunity to leave a link back to your own blog too!

Until next time,

Stephanie

Cabbage is a very versatile vegetable as it can be eaten raw, steamed, stir-fried or in stews.  Here is one of my favorite meals on a cold January day.  It is sure to please everyone in your family, even the ones who do not like veggies.

Cabbage and Beef Stew

1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup onions, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (preferably organic)
2 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup carrots, chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
1 ½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp of sea salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
3 cups of green or Savoy cabbage, slice thin

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, add beef, onions, celery, pepper and garlic until beef is browned.
2. Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

This stew is delicious on its own, or served over brown or basmati rice.  I have also cooked it in the slow cooker and it works well.  Just brown the meat first and then put everything in the slow cooker for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low.

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What is your favorite winter stew? We’d love to know. Here on this blog you’ll get commentluv too! This is a great way to leave a link back to your own blog when you leave a comment.

Happy Cooking!

Stephanie

It’s January again, and a time to make New Year’s resolutions.  As you set your 2012 goals, remember that taking small achievable steps is the best road to health.

When a baby learns to walk, it takes hours of practice, but eventually they walk all on their own. This is the best approach to building a healthy lifestyle.  Focus on taking slow, consistent steps and building lasting habits.  Habits mean real change – versus radical changes that often lead to failure.

Our taste buds and bodies can only crave the nutrients we need from what we normally eat, even if it is low quality food.  We have to retrain our tastes so that we eventually crave more nutritious food.  But it takes time for us to retrain these tastes – so take small steps and be patient.

Here are some simple and achievable goals to improve your health in 2012:

1)      Drink more water.  Water supports all of the body’s systems and it helps to reenergize us. Here is an easy way to increase water intake – take a large glass of water with you to bed  and put it on the night table.  First thing in the morning, drink as much of the water as you can.  This will rehydrate your body and help flush out toxins that have accumulated overnight.  Try this for a week and notice the changes in your body.

2)      Eat your greens.  One of the healthiest foods we can eat are green vegetables, they are packed with nutrients and help alkalize the body. Aim to eat something green every day like spinach, kale, cabbage or broccoli.  Try some new recipes that make these veggies taste delicious. I wrote a blog post on the wonders of broccoli. You will find it by clicking here.

3)      Eat your antioxidants. Start small by aiming to eat 1-2 fruits per day.    Try to include antioxidant-rich foods like blueberries, blackberries, apples and pears. Did you know that blueberries get the top antioxidant score? Read this.

4)      Increase your fiber intake through whole foods.  One of the biggest problems with the North American diet is that it lacks fiber and has too many refined grains/flours.  Increase your fiber by including ground flax, apples, pears, brown rice, quinoa and oatmeal in your meals.  This will improve your digestion, keep your blood sugar levels balanced and satisfy your appetite.

The best source of our nutrients is from a diet with a variety of whole foods.  A whole foods is as close as possible to its natural state (with minimal or no processing).  For example a potato is a whole food. But it can be processed to varying degrees: homemade mashed potatoes with the skins are still a whole food, because nothing has been removed.  But dehydrated potato flakes, potato flour or frozen French fries are not whole because they have been processed, refined or altered.  So fruits, vegetables, whole/unprocessed grains, fish, nuts, chicken are all great whole foods to include in your diet.

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Good luck with your small steps to a healthier 2012.  Make sure to celebrate you progress as you build good habits for lifelong change. Share your journey with us! We love getting feedback. Here on this blog, you’ll get commentluv.  This is an ideal way to leave a link back to your own blog when you leave a comment.

Until next time,

Happy New Year!

Stephanie