Is your gut prepared for flu season?

Leave a comment October 7, 2015 Elaina Love

Here are 7 ways you can prepare your gut for the changing seasons. Be sure to scroll down for bonus recipes!

As the weather gets colder, our immune systems need to work harder to deal with the changing weather, the heater running more and the falling pollen, flora and fauna.

1. Eat an alkaline diet: Start your day with warm lemon water (1 liter/quart of water with the juice of 1 lemon), make daily green juice, eat leafy greens, vegetables and seaweeds to up your alkalinity quotient. See recipes in my other blogs for ideas.
2. Take probiotic capsules (with enteric coating): Most people don’t realize how much they can benefit from taking a probiotic daily. Once on a regular regiment of taking 1-2 caps a day, people have reported quicker digestion, better moods, improved brain function, clearer skin and a happier outlook on life. According to Dr. Mark Perlmutter, MD, you should look for probiotics which have Lactobacillus plantarum. to re-implant your gut with good bacteria. The prices will vary according to how many billion bacteria are in the bottle. I suggest starting with 15, 30 or 50 billion bacteria and trying different kinds and strains to find one which works for you. Each person has a different microbiome, so you may need to do some experimenting to find the right probiotic for you. A great way to do this is to buy one brand or type at a time and take it until the bottle is finished, then try a different kind the next time. Some of our favorite brands are: Ultimate Flora, Probiotica, Garden of Life, Master Supplements or Dr. OHara to name a few.
3. Eat cultured foods daily, such as coconut kefir and sauerkraut (see recipes below). Not only does this add a great flavor to your meals, it also adds a healthy dose of good bacteria to your gut to help fight off the bad guys. If you are on a budget, this is an inexpensive way to populate your microbiome with friendly flora.
4. Avoid white sugar: Holidays seem to herald an abundance of sugar in the form of cakes, chocolates and candy. If you are feeling at all under the weather, it would be a very good idea to eschew such things. IAccording to Health Services at Columbia University, when you eat 100 grams of sugar, about as much sugar as you find in a 1 liter bottle of soda, your white blood cells are 40 percent less effective at killing germs. This can cripple your immune system for up to 5 hours after eating sugar!
5. Avoid glutenous foods and white flour: these foods can rob you of energy and create a highly acid environment in your body, which germs thrive on. Gluten consumption has also been directly tied to depression and brain health. Beware of gluten substitutes as well, which can be just as acidic and detrimental to your health (such as gluten-free baked goods).
6. Avoid nutritionally devoid foods: Many vegans who eliminate animal products start to go for all the meat and dairy substitutes. This can be a big mistake. Be sure to read your labels and avoid things you cannot pronounce or too many ingredients.
7. Add these immune boosting supplements:

• Chinese medicine and adaptogens such as Ho Shu Wu and astragalus These can be brewed into tea or taken as supplements and can greatly boost your immunity. A good brand is Dragonherbs.
• You could highly benefit from taking a few drops of oregano oil to instantly kick out viruses and bad bacteria. This is my # 1 go to when I am feeling like I might be getting sick. Oregano oil, like other essential oils, can act as an anti-viral,anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agent so use caution as it might not only attack the bad baceria. Try putting 3 drops of oregano oil in an empty veggie cap and taking it morning and night until you are feeling 100% healthy again. Then be sure to up your pro-biotic quotient for a few days.

P.S. Remember self care: Take a hot bath with Epsom salt, do an evening foot rub with essential oils, have a sauna or massage, do dry skin brushing, and be sure to get in movement every day. If you go outside for a 20 minute walk, you will get life enhancing Vitamin D thru the sun and get improved circulation and fresh air.

Live Sauerkraut

1 cabbage (red or green)
½-1 tsp. Himalayan salt crystals
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 Tbs. dried dill or 1/2 cup fresh dill chopped
2 Tbs. caraway seeds 
4-8 cloves garlic, crushed

Substitutions: Switch the dill for cilantro, the caraway for cumin seeds and the garlic for ginger or turmeric root to make different variations.

1. Slice the cabbage using the 1mm setting on a mandolin or food processor, or cut paper thin with a knife. Discard the outer leaves.
2. . Mix all the ingredients together and massage it with your hands. Continue to work the cabbage until the liquid starts to release.
3. You may need to let your hands rest, so leave the cabbage sitting and come back to it every 1/2 hour until when you press on the cabbage, liquid rises to the top.

4. Place the kraut in a 1-quart or 1-liter glass jar. Press the cabbage down until the liquid rises above it about 1/8 inch. The juice may sink back down a little and that is okay.

5. Place a lid on the jar and let sit for 1-4 days in a warm spot (around 80F), depending on desired sourness.
6. Once the sauerkraut is ready, place it in the refrigerator.

The sauerkraut will keep for up to 8 months in the refrigerator.

Coconut Kefir

Kefir is a healing food that is made by culturing a kefir starter or a proteolytic (will digest the proteins to amino acids) probiotic with nuts, seeds or coconut. By drinking or eating kefir on a regular basis, we clean and strengthen our colons, improve digestion, cultivate friendly flora in the intestines, reduce food and sugar cravings, moisturize the skin, strengthen the immune system and help our bodies to reverse the aging process by breaking down undigested proteins. Kefir is a complete protein, and is an excellent source of amino acids and enzymes as well!

Liquid Kefir can be made by adding a probiotic to the liquid of young coconuts

4 cups coconut water
1 Tbs. kefir starter or 1 capsule 15 billion flora probiotic or 1/4 cup cultured kefir

1. Mix the ingredients together in a blender for no more than 30 seconds
2. Place a lid on the jar and let sit in a warm place.
3. 90 degrees in a dehydrator for 24 hours is ideal.
4. The cultured beverage is ready when it is slightly effervescent and/or tastes sour

Enjoy as a refreshing beverage or use to make almond cheese, etc.

Yogurt or Cheese can be made by adding the culture to blended coconut meat, almonds, sunflower seeds, cashews, pumpkin seeds etc.

2-4 cups blended coconut meat, nuts, seeds with enough water to make a yogurt-like texture
1 Tbs. kefir starter or 1 capsule 15 billion flora probiotic or 1/4 cup cultured kefir

1. Mix the kefir starter or probiotic with the blended mixture (do not blend the probiotic for more than 30 seconds)
2. Place the mixture in a glass jar large enough to let the kefir expand by 1/3
3. Place a lid on the jar and let sit in a warm place.
4. 90 degrees in a dehydrator for 24 hours is ideal.
5. You will know the kefir is ready when it tastes sour like yogurt or looks spongy in the jar.

Enjoy kefir in a salad dressing, over fruit, in a smoothie or on its own sweetened with a little stevia and vanilla extract.

Benefits of Coconuts with Recipes

2 Comments September 11, 2015 Elaina Love

BENEFITS OF EATING COCONUT OIL
by Chris Whitcoe (Holistic Nutrition Lecturer at Pure Joy Academy)

Brain Food- Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs), the primary type of fat found within coconut oil, have been found to boost cognitive performance in older adults suffering from memory disorders as serious as Alzheimer’s — and not after months or even days of treatment, but after a single 40 ml dose! A groundbreaking 2004 study published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging found that the administration of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), the primary fat type found in coconut oil, almost immediately improved cognitive function in older adults with memory disorders.
Fat Tastes Good!  While I know many of you who are on the spiritual path feel that denying yourself something good gets you brownie karma points in heaven, we believe that enjoying our food is a divine blessing. In fact, that is why Pure Joy Academy promotes gourmet health food preparation. In the food processing industry, to make low fat foods taste good, other ingredients are increased: salt, sugar, hydrogenated oils, MSG and “natural” flavorings. These additives have had a devastating overall impact on our society’s health.
Feeling Full-When you deny fat; you make up for it somewhere else. For most Americans, the substitution is with processed carbohydrates. We have an internal “fullness meter” in our stomach that tells our body we can stop eating. Good fats along with healthy vegetable fiber give us the sense of fullness and satisfaction that we crave.
Bodies Require Energy-Russian athletes have known this for decades: fat is an excellent source for your body’s energy requirements. Our cells metabolize fat quite nicely. In fact, babies get most of their energy needs met with the fat of mother’s milk, and athletes get their “second wind” when their bodies kick into fat burning mode.
Leptin Resistance-New information on fruits and processed carbs is showing us that they create leptin resistance. Normal Leptin function tells us when we are full, and suppresses appetite. Excess fructose consumption (which often happens when we reduce fat intake) results in an increase in insulin production. Insulin is what escorts the energy into the cells, and if your cells don’t require it, then they stop listening. This creates insulin resistance and leads to leptin resistance. This means that we are not getting the signal that we are full, but our cells are not requiring any more energy. So we eat more and send the excess energy to our fat cells. This is contributing to the rise in obesity.
Lock up those Radicals! -Unfortunately, most processed foods contain highly processed trans fats, rancid fats or poor quality (i.e., cheap) fat and oil. Quality fat is very sensitive to heat, light and oxygen, which cause them to oxidize and form free radicals. Be sure to keep your fats out of the sunlight (in the refrigerator or your cool cupboard). If you cook in oil, use high quality coconut oil, which is the most heat stable of all oils, or better yet, steam your food and drizzle the oil on after the food has been removed from the heat source.
Benefits of Healthy Fat-Myelin, the protective sheath that covers communicating neurons, is composed of 70% fat. One of the most common fatty acids in myelin is oleic acid, which is also the most abundant fatty acid in human milk and in a healthy diet.

• Plant based fats have been shown to reduce breast and colon cancer.[2]
• Healthy fat improves the absorption of (fat-soluble) vitamins[3]
•  Raises HDL “good” cholesterol and lowers LDL “bad” cholesterol[4]
• Used in the construction of cell membranes

Best Sources-Your best way to get healthy fat into your diet is with whole, organic, untreated, unheated coconut, avocado, nuts (walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, pecans, etc.), seeds (chia, flax, sesame, pumpkin, etc.) and olives. Oils are a good way to take in those fats, however, quality oil is sensitive to heat and light, so it’s best to either get reputable brands or simply eat them in their whole food form. For nuts and seeds, it is best to soak them in water to activate the enzymes.
How Much? -While everyone is unique and your diet should be individualized to your unique physiology, it is probably true that a 30-80% of you calories should come from healthy fats (when eating more fats, it is imperative that you reduce or eliminate your sugar/high glycemic food consumption to avoid weight gain). While this may sound like nutritional heresy, health and wellness research is supporting this very concept now. As you learn to eat more good fats, which taste great, and reduce your sugar and carb intake, not only will you enjoy healthy food more, you will enjoy a healthier and even a possibly leaner body!

RAW, VEGAN, PALEO COCONUT RECIPES

Recipes by Elaina Love 

Coconut-Cinnamon Shake

Coconut-Cinnamon Shake

2 cups coconut milk (fresh, canned or boxed)

2 Tbs raw Cacao Nibs

2 Tbs mesquite powder

1 Tbs Maca Powder

6 Dates (pitted) or 6 Tablespoons Xylitol, honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc.

2 Brazil nuts

½ tsp. cinnamon powder

1 cup ice

1. Blend on high until smooth.

Thai Coconut Curry Soup

Makes 8 one cup servings

Fresh coconuts blended into a savory soup

3 young young coconuts (about 1 ½ cups meat and 4 ½ cups coconut water)

1 ½ tsp. grated or zested ginger

Juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbs.)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil

3 dates, pitted (skip for low glycemic)

1 tsp. Mineral salt (Himalayan, Real or Celtic)

1 Tbs. Coconut Aminos (or Tamari)

1-2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 tsp. curry powder

1 Thai chili (small red or green) use seeds for extra heat

1. Open all the young coconuts and pour the water into a pitcher.
2. Measure out 1 ½ cups coconut water and pour into the blender.
3. Scoop all the coconut meat out and mix with the remaining ingredients.
4. Blend until the coconut meat becomes smooth and there is no sign of coconut pieces (this may take a couple minutes if the coconuts are cold).
5. Add the remaining coconut water from the other pitcher and blend again. (add less coconut water for a thicker soup or for a salad dressing)
6. You may warm it on the stove if desired or serve as is.
7. Pour into bowls and decorate with sliced green onions or dehydrated onions.

This soup will last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Easy Pad Thai

raw, vegan, paleo

Serves 8

Sauce:

1/2-1 tsp. kelp powder or dulse flakes

1/4 cup coconut butter

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes

zest of 1 lime

1peeled lime, chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 pitted dates (optional)

2 Tbs. coconut oil

1 small Thai chills or 1 jalapeño

1-2 Tbs. shredded or zested ginger

2 Tbs. coconut aminos

1/4-1/2 cup water

3/4 tsp. high mineral salt

optional: 1 tsp. apple cider

1. Blend all ingredients until creamy including the tomato soak water.

Vegetables:

3 zucchini made into noodles with a spiral slicer* or vegetable peeler

3 scallions thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, julienned

10 snow peas, julienned

½ lb.bean sprouts (the long white ones)

2 TBS lime juice

½ tsp. Himalayan sea salt

Toppings:

1/2 cup dehydrated almonds, chopped

¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 handful of bean sprouts

lime wedges to decorate

1. Take the vegetables and cover with the lime and salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Then drain all the liquid off that has sweated out of the vegetables. You can even use a salad spinner to get the veggies extra dry.
2. Place the sweated and drained veggies in a bowl and mix with 1 cup of sauce (or more). Then arrange on a platter or individual plates, and cover with chopped nuts and cilantro, or put the sauce and toppings on the side and let individuals serve themselves.
   Optional: Warm the dish in a dehydrator at 115º before serving.

 

Bavarian Coconut Custard

Layered with raspberries, pecans and chocolate ganache

Recipe by Elaina Love

Serves 12

2 cups young coconut meat

1/2 c. coconut water

2 Tbs. orange juice (1/2 orange)

1/8 tsp. salt

1 pinch-1/8 tsp. turmeric for color

1 vanilla bean, chopped or scraped

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/4 cup honey or powdered xylitol with 1 Tbs. water -more to taste

1 Tbs. soy lecithin

2 Tbs. coconut oil

1. Blend on high until smooth.
2. Refrigerate in small bowls and serve when firm.
3. Top with berries and a mint leaf if desired.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting or Topping

Frost your cakes, cookies or brownies with this healthy frosting.

1 cup maple syrup or coconut sugar

¾ cups cacao powder

2 Tablespoons coconut oil

½ cup water (or more as needed)

1/8 tsp. salt

 

1. Blend until smooth. Store in a squirt bottle and serve warm for immediate use on ice cream or set up in the refrigerator and use as frosting on your brownie or custard.

 

If you refrigerate this, it will become ganache so use a wide mouth container so you can scoop it with a spoon.

No Bake Vegan Cheesecake

1 Comment August 19, 2015 Elaina Love

Raw Vegan Cheesecake with Mulberries

This is one of my favorite dessert recipes. You can make it without the crust for an easy custard recipe.

Makes one large 10” Cheesecake

basic crust :

2 cups soaked and dehydrated walnuts or pecans

2 cups dried (desiccated) coconut, ground into a powder

6 Tablespoons powdered sweetener: coconut sugar or xylitol

1/8 tsp. Sea Salt

2 Tbs. softened or melted coconut oil (or melted cacao butter)

2 tsp. cinnamon powder

tiny pinch of cayenne powder

1/4 cup mesquite powder

1. Place all ingredients in your food processor fitted with the “S” blade attachment.
2. Process ingredients until the crust starts to rise on the sides of the processor bowl. Stop the machine and mix with a spatula or spoon.
3. Assemble the cheesecake pan with the bottom upside-down (with lip facing down). This makes it much easier to serve.
4. Distribute crust evenly on the bottom of pan and firmly press down by hand and press up the sides just slightly.
5. Set in a freezer or refrigerator until ready to be filled.

filling:

2 1/4 soaked macadamia nuts or cashews

3/4 cup Irish moss paste

2 3/4 cups water

1 cup Erythritol or Xylitol or coconut sugar (will be less white with coconut sugar)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 TBS. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. Himalayan salt

2 TBS. soy or sunflower lecithin

1 cup coconut oil or 1⁄2 cup cacao butter

1. Soak the nuts for 1 hour then rinse well.
2. Make Irish moss paste by soaking 1/3 cup dry Irish moss in 3/4 cup water, for 4 hours (or overnight) in cool water.Rinse well and drain the water.
3. Then chop the moss well and blend in a high speed blender with 1 cup hot water until it becomes a smooth, creamy texture.
4. Measure the remaining ingredients into a high-powered blender and blend everything together until nuts are well blended and there is a smooth, shine to the batter.
5. Pour the batter into a 10” cheesecake pan or 2 small cheesecake pans.
6. Place in freezer to set, 1-2 hours or until middle of cheesecake is firm to the touch or refrigerate for 4 or more hours.
7. Remove spring-form ring by inserting a non-serrated paring knife along the inside edge of the pan.
8. Open the spring-form, remove cheesecake, garnish with fresh berries, and serve!
9. Store covered in your refrigerator from 4-7 days. Cheesecakes freeze well for longer storage.

Variations: You can substitute berries for any fruit.

Tips: The most important thing is to blend all ingredients really well. If your blender has less than 8 cups full capacity or if your blender is struggling, blend 1/2 the recipe at a time (or just make 1/2 of the  recipe and use 1 9 inch cheesecake pan). If the filling doesn’t taste rich and flavorful, add another small pinch of salt and a bit more sweetener and  blend a little longer.

Vegan Nori Wraps Easy Lunch Time Favorite

2 Comments July 6, 2015 Elaina Love

Sometimes I get hungry around midday, and I just cannot bear another green salad. I love all the raw ingredients that go in salads, I sometimes just get tired of a forkful of greens. I’ve got a great way to make salads super easy, peasy and soo yummy!

Here’s my new lunch time favorite  

1. Take any mix of salad greens- Romaine, spring mix, sprouts, or just use all of them.
2. Something fatty- either avocado or a sunflower pate or hummus (see recipe below)
3. Mustard or some kind of spicy sauce you have on hand
4. Sauerkraut-just a scoop
5. Something crunchy- like freeze dried peas or dehydrated pumpkin seeds
6. Some chopped veggies like red bells, carrots, cucumbers, green onions (whatever is in the fridge)
7. Dulse pieces or flakes for extra minerals

Lay it all out in a nori sheet. It doesn’t matter what order or how you do it…be messy!

Then roll it all up into a roll, seal the edge with a little water and cut it in 1/2.

Two rolls later you’ll be feeling like a rock star! Nom, nom, nom!

Nori Roll Wraps are so DEElish!

Thank you Katelyn Louise for reminding me that these are so fun and easy!

Zucchini Hummus

Raw Zucchini Hummus

2 medium zucchini, chopped
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup extra virgin (real) olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. high mineral sea salt such as Himalayan or Real Salt
1/4 tsp. Cayenne powder
1 1/2 tsp. Paprika powder
3/4 cup raw tahini (sesame butter)
1. Blend everything (except the tahini) until smooth.
2. Add the tahini and blend again.
3. Store in a glass jar for up to 7 days.

Making eating well easy

Leave a comment July 20, 2012 Elaina Love

I know that sometimes the biggest hurdle to overcome in changing to a healthier diet is how to find the time to prepare fresh food.

Here are some tips that may make eating healthy easier:

1. Eat simply:  Eating delicious, prepared healthy foods are great and enjoyable, but try thinking a little simpler. A nice big crispy fuji apple with raw almond or pumpkin seed butter (sprinkle with a little cinnamon to balance your blood sugar), a basket of delicious strawberries sliced and  mixed with almond milk and 1 TBS soaked chia seeds, or my daily favorite, 1 bag of pre-washed spinach blended with 2 cups of frozen blueberries or raspberries, a pinch of stevia and 1 cup water or almond milk. Eat simply for breakfast and lunch, and save prepared foods for dinner.

2. Buy your salad greens already washed. A lot of markets including Trader Joes carry prewashed baby greens such as arugula, spinach and mixed greens. This makes it really easy to open a bag and throw a salad together.

3. Shop at Farmers Market. Farmers bring produce fresh picked and ripe most of the time so you can buy your foodat its tastiest, ripest and freshest. The flavors are so great that you will enjoy these foods all by themselves, with nothing on them. Think big juicy heirloom tomatoes, sliced and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of basil.

4. Make fast salad dressings with tasty oils. There is an amazing array of delicious, exotic oils that now fill the markets such as pumpkin seed, almond, sesame, and walnut oils (for a raw, cold pressed product order from http://www.canada-shops.com) or Bariani cold pressed Olive oil which is my favorite olive oil. Just drizzle your greens with a tablespoon of oil and a little Himalayan salt, then mix your greens well, top them with sprouts, sliced avocados, tomatoes and some sunflower or pumpkin seeds, and you’ve got a healthy, easy salad. For more punch squeeze 1/2 a lemon over the top or 1/4 tsp. of apple cider vinegar.

5. Mash an avocado with some raw sauerkraut and spread on a flax cracker. I love this dish! Just take 1 avocado, mash it with ½ cup of your favorite store bought or homemade sauerkraut and eat it like that in a bowl or spread it on a cracker. (For a great selection of raw sprouted crackers visit any health food store in your area. If you don’t have crackers, put a cup of cooked, alkalizing, protein rich quinoa in the bottom of the bowl.

6. Use presoaked nuts/seeds. Nuts and seeds are full of the good fats and a handful makes a great in between meal snack. However if you don’t soak them you might have a hard time digesting them due to their enzyme inhibitors and acids in the skin. Here are 2 solutions. 1. Keep a couple cups of your favorite nuts such as almonds always soaking. You can keep them in water in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. When you are ready to use them, rinse them in 3 % hydrogen peroxide to freshen them. 2. Soak up to 5 pounds of nuts overnight, rinse them well, then dehydrate them at 105° until crispy. (About 36 hours for almonds, 24 hours for walnuts or pecans and only 8 hours for pumpkin or sunflower seeds). Let them cool and store them in an airtight container. When you need them for almond milk, just plain snackin’ or a recipe, they will be ready to use.

7. Pick one or two days a week to do your food production. Make the majority of your prepared foods on that day such as flax crackers, nut/seed pates, veggie burgers, almond mayo, pizza crusts, pesto, etc. which will keep for a length of time. Then on the other days, you have a foundation on which you can put your fresh fruits and veggies. Ideas: Make pasta sauce on your food production day, and on a non-production day, make a green salad and spiralized zucchini on which to put your sauces and dressings. You can also ask friends to help you on production days, and then everyone goes home with something.

8. Get recipe books with easy to prepare recipes like Elaina’s Pure Joy Kitchen or Raw Food Made Easy by Jenny Cornbleet.

9. Think Happy Thoughts. Make eating healthy fun, not a chore. Your energy and mood will improve with each healthy meal, making life more fun and light. If you eat pizza, so what? I’m sure you had a perfectly good reason for eating it. Now, take a deep breath, send lots of love to the pizza in your belly, and move on!