Quinoa

http://ranchogordo.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451fd1569e20111685ecc79970c-400wi

I've known about quinoa for quite a while but I've never actually eaten it until recently when I thought I'd try some for the heck of it. At first the smell of it threw me off while it was boiling, but I guarantee you it tastes much better than it smells. It has a slight fluffy and subtle crunch to it.

Quinoa is an an ancient grain thought to originate from South America and considered "the gold of the Incas". Apart from being a great source of manganese, magnesium, iron and copper, what sets this grain apart is its complete amino acid profile comprised of all 9 essential amino acids, making it a great choice for vegetarians and vegans. Its high content of the amino acid lysine makes it very effective at tissue growth and repair.

Quinoa has been shown to help reduce migraines thanks to its high levels of magnesium which aid in relaxing blood vessels.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=142&tname=foodspice

It's very easy to cook and really versatile.

Add a cup of quinoa to a boiling pot and fill it with water till the quinoa is just covered and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid or plate and once it starts boiling reduce the heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes. It can be added to salads, oatmeal, anything really. I usually add some tuna and veggies to a cup of quinoa and have that for lunch. Either way, experiment and if you have come up with any good recipes let me hear them!

Green Slime & Music

I always wanted to try making my own veggie shakes, so I decided to just try it this weekend. Here's a quick recipe I threw together, and despite it's vomit-inducing taste, it's extremely healthy for you.

1 cup kale
1 cup spinach
1 cup vanilla almond milk
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/2 kiwi
1 banana

Blend it all together, and then blend some more. I steam the kale first to soften it up a bit. Believe me you'll need to blend this for a good couple of minutes if you want a decent consistency. I didn't blend it enough the first time I made it and ended up chewing pieces of the kale and spinach. Not fun, at all.

So in keeping with the original idea for my blog, here's some music I've come across yesterday that I can't stop listening to. It's very relaxing and very deep. Buddha Bar has some amazing music from all around the world and their style is definitely not something you hear every day.

The video is content of www.youtube.com




Enjoy!

Burger Recipe

I've come to realize that there's no real 'recipe' when it comes to things like burgers. You can play around with the ingredients so much that nothing really stays fixed. You just need to find the right combination of ingredients, even though I find that almost any combination of ingredients (within limits) seems to work fine.


http://www.newfunnypictures.net/data/media/1/Eat%20more%20chicken.jpg

One recipe I've made numerous times that I like a lot is:

1 pound lean ground beef (or 1/2 pound beef & 1/2 pound pork)
1 egg
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Handful of oatmeal or breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh parsley
A squeeze of ketchup, mustard and some barbeque sauce
Finely chopped onions
I usually throw in some herbs and spices like oregano, seven spice, chili flakes etc. The more the better I find (again, within limits)
I like to also add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed - but this is optional, it just increases the Omega 3 content

Beat the egg, add the ingredients and make a nice mix before shaping them into either burgers or meatballs. This is even good just cooked on the skillet and thrown over some pasta for a really filling meal.

Really, the options are endless. You're basically making a meat mix and then you can do whatever you want with it. If I make these into burgers I'll slice up some avocado, tomato, onion and spinach and put them in a bun, and enjoy!

The Importance of Maintaing Your Body's Internal pH

I want to write a small article stressing the importance of maintaining the body's internal pH since this is something that gets overlooked a lot in my opinion. pH is very briefly a level of the acidity/alkalinity of the body (or anything for that matter), and the body maintains an internal pH of roughly 7.365. A huge amount of medical conditions arise in the body as a result of a drop in pH towards a more acidic value. Given the modern fast-paced lifestyle filled with fast food, pollution and stress this comes as no surprise.

Some of the most acid forming foods are protein, sugar, alcohol, coffee and tea. Yeah, coffee, I think a little part of me just died. Given that we'd basically stop functioning without protein, the solution isn't obviously to stop consuming it. What needs to be done is a balancing of internal pH. Vegetables are the most naturally occurring food source that help to stabilize an acidic environment. Diets high in acid-forming foods cause the body to use minerals to maintain the pH which can be taxing in the long run, resulting in various medical conditions.

Research has demonstrated that an alkali environment is needed for the body to repair and detoxify itself. Acidosis in the body has been shown to contribute to at least the following few conditions: kidney stones, immune deficiency, yeast/fungal overgrowth, depression, headaches, joint pain, stomach acid etc.

Here are a few resources and pointers to take away from all this.

1) An excellent book talking about all this and providing recipes: The pH Miracle - Robert. O Young and Shelley Redford Young.

http://www.amazon.com/pH-Miracle-Balance-Reclaim-Health/dp/B001Q3M5SU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283737541&sr=8-1

2) Add lemon to your water - An easy way to balance out your internal pH. You might think lemons are acidic but they produce an alkaline residue when digested.

3) Eat as many vegetable as you can, period. The more veggies, the more alkaline your body will be, not to mention the tons of other nutrients it will be getting. As a general rule I try and aim for as many colors as I can when it comes to veggies. Remember, variety is the key.



4) Here's a list showing different foods that are acidic or alkaline. You might be surprised at the amount of food we consume on a daily basis that is naturally acidic.


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrZYjO22y36h8IycE0Z3Q7-WudeEg0KR5vbazSNGW2UF5G63RbRFrZx0EahHWD9_2uEKWfHyE7FxvohKEtISaxsKnBNSYeSixtdAf4TMelvV6rWiNAzsz8xJt17mcWuycWTX77GQwBoLm/s1600/alkaline_list.gif

Now even though you see things on the acidic side such as blueberries, cheese, milk and chocolate, it doesn't automatically mean that we should eliminate them from our diet. They each serve their own purpose in promoting a healthy body. Blueberries are bursting with antioxidants, cheese and milk offer very high quality protein and chocolate contains cocoa which apart from containing antioxidants also lowers blood pressure and improves blood flow.

http://www.trans4mind.com/nutrition/pH.html