Month: March 2014

One thing that became glaringly obvious, when observing some ‘raw food gurus’ raw food snacks was the high fat/calorie content in some of their preparations. Many of them were made using their food dehydrator.

Avocados, oils, nuts and seeds were used (seemingly) without a thought about the high percentage of fat or calories that was being introduced into the diet. My daily fat intake is about 10% or less. It seems how my body responds best and there have been great research information from a variety of sources that shows the benefits of adhering to this plan.

The high fats I see promoted in some raw food recipes always left me wondering if the creator has any idea of the fat or calorie content that are contained in these healthy foods? Perhaps some do and are simply not bothered by the high fat content? And while I’m not one to count calories, the amount of fats that I’d see (from a variety of nuts and seeds that were going into one recipe) made me pause. Healthy fats are great for us; Fats help with absorbing nutrients, nerve transmission and maintaining cell membrane integrity etc. But we can overdo it also.

Have you ever checked the nutritional info on the natural but high fat foods you consume? You might be in for a surprise.

Let’s take a look at 1 cup of raw almonds…

Raw Almonds – Ground, 1 Cup

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup of ground

Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 433
Calories 549

% Daily Values*
Total Fat 48.11g 74%

One cup has 549 calories and 433 of that is from fat.

Let’s take a look at raw cashews…

Raw Cashews – 1 Cup
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 170g or 6oz

Amount Per Serving

Calories
940 Calories from Fat 624

% Daily Value*

Total Fat
75g 115%

How about flax seeds? I frequently see this used as a binding ingredient within raw snacks. I do use it, but I reduce the amount I use by a lot.

Flax Seeds – 1 Cup

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup

Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 550
Calories 774

% Daily Values*
Total Fat 61.13g 94%

While, it’s true that there are health benefits in the good fats, using them excessively might cause issues also.

Possible issues with too much fat in a raw food diet…

• Fat remains in the blood stream a long time – Raw food diets high in fat remains in the blood stream for an extremely long time. If our raw food diet (or any other diet for that matter) is high in fat it successfully interferes with insulin production. Why is this important? Under ideal circumstances, our bodies insulin would latch on to sugar molecules within the blood so that it could transport them to our cells. However, consuming a high amount of fat, makes it very difficult for the insulin to reach the insulin receptor.  Because of this, our pancreas becomes tired from producing the additional insulin. This means that our blood sugar levels remain high since the sugar can’t be carried out of the blood by the insulin. Did you know that conditions like type 2 diabetes aren’t caused by the lack of insulin, they are directly related to too much fat.
• Slows Digestion – consuming too much fat can slow down the digestive process of other foods that are consumed. Some folks might also experience bloating or gas. I’ve experienced this in the past, it’s not pleasant at all!
• Interference with red blood cells – A diet high in fat will hinder the transport of oxygen by our red blood cells. When our body is low in oxygen, it makes the perfect environment for cancer to survive.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some raw food snacks, and I’ll even make sure to measure so I can actually have a recipe, but you won’t see an excessive amount of fats in any of my recipes. Raw food snacks can be just as delicious without the excessive use of healthy fats. For me, it’s all about balance. Over the years I’ve learned to really pay attention to my bodies cues. Everything within moderation, you know?

References:

1. Fat Secret: Flax Seeds
2. Fat Secret – Almonds
3. Skip the Pie.org – Nutritional Data for Nuts, cashew nuts, raw
4. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine – Analysis of Health Problems Associated with High-Protein, High-Fat, Carbohydrate-Restricted Diets Reported via an Online Registry
5. Heart Information Network: A Diet That Restricts Daily Fat Intake to 10% Can Help in the Fight Against Heart Disease: A Discussion of Fat, Myths, and Dr. Dean Ornish’s Diets
6. Body Enlightenment: Hold the Almonds and Pass the Arugula: What You Need to Know About Omega Fatty Acids in Oils, Seeds, and Greens!

Yesterday, when my daughter arrived home, she was greeted with scent of banana and vegetable chips permeating the air.

“What are you making, mommy?” She peeked into the top tray of the 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator and spotted the banana chips. “Oh… I remember those!” She said excitedly. She loved banana chips as a toddler. My daughter hates store bought fruit chips but has always loved dehydrated chips. Homemade raw banana chips don’t have the added preservatives (and in some cases additional sweeteners) that our bodies don’t need.

A few trays down she saw the nutrient rich (high in fiber) veggie chips. What am I talking about, all the chips/crackers within the dehydrator are high in nutrients and they are so delicious! These chips are a mix of freshly chopped kale (stem removed and set aside for juicing) and juicer pulp. The pulp consisted of carrots, garlic, celery and ginger.

Additionally I added a some freshly ground Himalayan sea salt, cumin and coriander. The binding ingredient, was about a 1/4 cup of freshly ground raw golden flax seeds. Those four trays were prepared while she was at Art class with her friend. I held off making any more since I knew she’d want to help making some raw food treats.

Once she arrived home we made raw fruit chips/rollups.

And my daughter took control, deciding what juice she wanted to drink; apple & pineapple. After the juice was prepared, the fiber pulp was put into my Kitchen Aid food processor. Since the pulp was a bit dry, I poured some of the freshly prepared apple & pineapple juice into the Food processor. My daughter took over and processed until blended until smooth. I then added two ripe bananas and about 1/4 cup of raw golden flax seeds that I’d let soak for about thirty minutes. Again, she processed until everything was well blended. I see a lot of folks that make dehydrated snacks add a large amount of nuts & seeds to their blend. Sure they are healthy, but have you checked out how many calories and fat they have? I keep my fat intake below 10% daily. More on the reasoning behind that in another post…

Once everything was blended we moved onto the task of spreading everything onto the trays. I added teflex sheets to each dehydrator tray, and showed her how to spread the ‘dough.’ I told her to make sure she did not get too close to the edge. There was enough of this to cover three trays.

Throughout the evening, I caught my daughter sampling the banana chips. No, they weren’t finished but boy did they smell good. I guess she could not resist, eh? You know, she used to do something similar when she was a toddler.  As soon as I would put the banana chips in her bowl, there she was ready to pounce on them and eat them. Sighs, some things never change… I guess! 😉

Earlier this week I ate a simple avocado salad.

I call it simple because the salad only consisted of four main ingredients; avocado, spinach, tomato and onion. A few spices were freshly ground in my mortar and pestle and I scattered some raw sunflower seeds as a topping.  But even though there weren’t a lot of ingredients, this salad was delicious. With my salads or any other meals that I do prepare, I try to keep the ingredients that I prepare to a minimum, since I do think simplicity is key.

I find that I really don’t need a lot of seasonings to flavor a dish. If you’re looking for salad dressing, you won’t find it in this dish and you know what, it really doesn’t need anything and that’s just how I prefer my salads, without salad dressing. Adding salad dressing to my salads are rare, since I much prefer experiencing the full flavor of the produce that I add to a meal.

Simple Eating

As you can see, even though my meal was ‘simple’ it is chock full of numerous nutrients and health benefits that my body craves. Since I eat simply, I detect a lot of flavors that most people can’t seem to taste and I do believe that is largely due to the types of foods that they consume. Many people consume food processed foods and other food like items that are loaded with a toxic mix of unhealthy ingredients and chemicals that aren’t designed for human consumption. Is it any wonder that westernized cultures are plagued with many health related diseases. It’s important to educate yourself on nutrition. Over time, these ‘foods’ can  affect what tastes good for us. It’s troubling, that the foods that are nourishing for our bodies and are quite delicious on their own are usually rejected the more unhealthy a person eats.

Health benefits

While simple, this is a highly nutritious meal. Avocados are rich in vitamin K, C, E and a variety of B vitamins. They also contain healthy fats,  protein, and they are a great source of fiber. Avocados has numerous health benefits. A few of them are; may help lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of certain types of cancers, aid in promoting healthy body weight and BMI. Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C, great for the skin, aids in constipation and can be effective in prostate cancer prevention. Besides being a great source of iron, spinach is an excellent source of vitamin C.  It also contains numerous anti-cancerous and anti-inflammatory benefits. It’s also great for our bone health, since it’s a great source of vitamin K. I use onion and garlic in a lot of my dishes. Numerous studies have shown that they both are great for cancer prevention. They both are anti-inflammatory and onions also may increase our bone density. Great information to know, especially for women as they near menopause.

References:

1. Nutrition Facts:  Health Benefits of Avocados
2. The World’s Healthiest Foods:  Spinach
3. WebMD: Onions full of Nutrients
4. The World’s Healthiest Foods: Tomatoes

 

People who know that I juice, usually ask me what I do with leftover juicer pulp? Aren’t you missing the fiber. The statement that you aren’t receiving fiber from juicing isn’t true, you do receive some soluble fiber however the insoluble fiber will be found in the pulp. Don’t be so quick to discard the pulp. It’s still nutritious and can be used in a variety of ways. Just be creative.

 

Using juicing pulp as compost

Recently, I’ve been adding the fiber straight to the garden. It makes great compost!  Sorry, I haven’t posted pictures of that. I figure the soil could use a boost to its nutrients. When my worms arrive, the pulp for my garden will be going into the worm composting bin first.

Add juicing pulp back to your food!

But gardening isn’t the only use for juicing pulp. You can also add the juicing fiber back to meals. I add it to soups, toss it over salads, blend it into smoothies and I’ve made a variety of vegetable and sweet based cookies/chips that received tons of compliments for those who sampled them. You get the idea, right? Use your imagination! Don’t trash your juicer pulp.

My daughter is too young to remember the variety of dehydrated raw foods I used to make for her. I couldn’t make them fast enough, as soon as they were done, there she was gobbling them up with a big smile on her face. I made them  until she was about three years old.  After I sold my dehydrator, she moved on to homemade ‘fruit puddings’ and a variety of other raw and delicious food made from produce.

When I used to dehydrate raw snacks, one of my favorite ingredients that I used to bind raw snacks together was flax seeds. When you soak flax seeds they expand and become sticky, making it a wonderful alternative to eggs when you want to bind ingredients together.

This weekend, I plan to make some vegetable crackers using some of the leftover juicing pulp. I still haven’t purchased the TSM 10 tray stainless steel dehydrator. I most likely will purchase that some time next month.

Flax Seeds Benefits

• Great source of Omega 3s. A healthy fat, it’s good for you.
• Contains insoluble and soluble fiber. Insoluble fiber helps waste move through your digestive tract which can be helpful in promoting healthy bowel movements. Constipation can lead to a whole host of problems, so make sure you’re getting plenty of fiber folks! Soluble fiber aids in slowing down your digestion which can help you feel full longer.
• Flax seeds contains lignans which have antioxidant and plant estrogen qualities. The health benefits of these lignans aren’t fully understood, but some research speculates that it can help reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.

References:

1. WebMD: The Benefits of Flax Seeds
2. Jackson GI Medical:  The Fiber contents of Food
3. Harvard School of Public Health:  The Nutrition Source: Omega 3 Fatty Acids