"I noticed that you do not sell superfoods or other food products on your website, why not?" This is a common question that we are asked by people we meet and visitors to our website. The answer is quite simple: we want the information we present to be as objective as we can possibly achieve and this value is very important to us. Our Science of Raw Food Nutrition classes contain information for personal health empowerment, not information associated with product promotion. So, when we are asked a question about a food or product, the answer reflects our own personal experience, research, and observation. We are happy to be able to provide you with this type of information.
Please note that we are NOT necessarily against anyone selling superfoods or food products. In fact, there have been many products that we have tried over the years that we have enjoyed and found to be of excellent quality and very useful. We look at superfoods and food products individually, since they are so diverse in their biochemical and nutritional characteristics. We just choose not to sell them, and a good number of our students and blog readers appreciate this about us. All we sell is education.
What do you think? Is the fact that we don't sell food products of significance to you?
Can certain commonly found fruits and vegetables be called "superfoods"? We think so 🙂
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Is Lettuce Nutrient Dense?
In our science of raw food nutrition classes, Rick and I cover a number of interesting topics related to raw food and health. In level one of our series, I show our students an example of the type of salad that Rick and I eat. Usually, a good number of the students are amazed at its size. Many people, even within the raw food community, are not used to eating large amounts of vegetables and I can certainly understand why. Before I started on my raw food path over 20 years ago, the amount of salad that I was used to eating was the size of a typical dinner salad:
As you can see, my salad WAS composed of about 1 cup of lettuce (usually iceberg) with a slice of tomato (usually unripe), a couple rings of onion, drowned in thousand island or some other commercial type of dressing (to give it some taste :)), all of which halfway filled an average cereal bowl. Does this sound familiar?
When I started eating more raw produce, I found that my old salad paradigm needed a makeover, since I found myself very hungry after eating such a small salad. I saw the amounts of vegetables that other raw food enthusiasts were eating in their salads and made some modifications. Now, I typically eat anywhere from 4 cups of lettuce to one head in my salad on most days. There are many types of lettuce, so for the sake of simplicity I will talk about Romaine lettuce for the remainder of this post.
4 cups of chopped Romaine lettuce is a little less than ½ of a medium to large head, 7 cups is approximately ¾ of a head, and 10 cups is equivalent about one head. Many people over the years have mentioned that they do not eat lettuce, because they have been told that lettuce does not contain many nutrients. Let us take a look at the nutrient content of Romaine lettuce in the amounts that we have mentioned:
A sampling of nutrients found in one cup of Romaine lettuce:
| 1 cup Romaine lettuce | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 8.0 | |
| Calcium | 15.51 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 0.46 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 0.11 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Alpha-linolenic Acid | 0.05 g | |
| Protein | 0.58 g |
A sampling of nutrients found in four cups of Romaine lettuce:
| 4 cups Romaine lettuce | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 32.0 | |
| Calcium | 62.0 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.82 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 0.43 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Alpha-linolenic Acid | 0.21 g | |
| Protein | 2.31 g |
A sampling of nutrients found in seven cups of Romaine lettuce:
| 7 cups Romaine lettuce | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 56 | |
| Calcium | 108.6 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 3.19 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 0.76 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Alpha-linolenic Acid | 0.37 g | |
| Protein | 4.05 g |
A sampling of nutrients found in ten cups of Romaine lettuce:
| 10 cups Romaine lettuce | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 80.0 | |
| Calcium | 155.1 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 4.56 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 1.08 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Alpha-linolenic Acid | 0.53 g | |
| Protein | 5.78 g |
As one can see, the nutrient content adds up as one eats more lettuce. In significant amounts, Romaine lettuce can make a significant nutrient contribution to one’s salad, and with the addition of other foods to this salad, the nutrient content will increase. In other words, it all adds up. 🙂
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What Nutrients are Found in Chia Seeds?
Rick and I have been asked lots of questions over the years about our opinion on specific foods. One of the biggest food questions that we have been asked recently is: “what is the nutrient content of chia seeds?” or some variation on this question. Chia seeds have become very popular in the last couple of years for a number of reasons, including their alpha-linolenic acid content. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is an omega 3 fatty acid that is found in varying amounts in a number of foods, including leafy greens and flax seeds. Here is the ALA content of two teaspoons of chia seeds:
| Chia seeds – 2 teaspoons (8.5 g) | |
| ALA | 1.49 g |
Here are some of the other nutrients found in chia seeds:
| Chia seeds – 2 teaspoons (8.5 g) | |
| Calories | 41.7 |
| Calcium | 53.6 mg |
| Protein | 1.33 g |
| Fat | 2.61 g |
As one can see, a significant percentage (57%) of the fat in chia seeds is alpha-linolenic acid and the calcium content of these seeds is notable at almost 54 mg (for 2 teaspoons and 42 calories), considering that the adult daily value for calcium ranges from 1000 to 1200 mg. Rick and I use chia seeds to thicken our vegetable-based salad dressings, since they work well for this purpose and have a relatively neutral taste in our recipes.
Many people also ask us about the conversion of alpha-linolenic acid to DHA in the human body. Rick covers this topic in depth in our Science of Raw Food Nutrition I course and also has spoken on this subject at various health conferences. Click here to view one of his conference talks on essential fatty acids.
After our last newsletter, many of you made suggestions for future blog topics – thank you! Be looking for a variety of topics on our blog in the coming months, including many of your suggestions. We appreciate your valuable input!
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
Yet Another Green Juice Recipe…
This past weekend Rick and I taught our Science of Raw Food Nutrition I class. As always, it was a joy to teach our information to such a fun and enthusiastic group of students!
Since Rick and I have a LOT of frisée greens (curly endive) growing in our garden now, I made this juice with frisée greens and variety of other popular green juice staples:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
1 medium cucumber, 8” long
4 cups frisée greens
½ head romaine lettuce
1 apple
Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
| Green Juice Ingredients | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 304 | |
| Calcium | 416.4 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 6.9 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 3.4 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 164.4 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 2990.4 | 4700 mg |
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Dark Green Juice
A couple of months ago, I posted a recipe for light green juice composed of celery, cucumber, and lemon. This recipe is a great introduction to green juice since it has a lemony flavor without the bitterness that green juice can have when certain dark leafy green vegetables are used to make the juice. I happen to love the flavor of most leafy greens, so here is a recipe for one of my favorite juices:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
1 medium cucumber, 8” long
3 cups frisée greens
5 cups dandelion greens
This recipe makes about 3 cups of juice. Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
| Dark Green Juice Ingredients | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 270 | |
| Calcium | 790.3 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 11.8 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 3.4 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 202.6 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 2953.1 | 4700 mg |
As one can see, the dandelion greens and frisée greens contribute quite a bit of calcium and iron to this juice when compared to the light green juice recipe from October:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
1 medium cucumber, 8” long
This recipe makes about 2 cups of juice. Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
| Light Green Juice Ingredients | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 120.7 | |
| Calcium | 198.0 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.99 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 1.07 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 81.05 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 1390.39 | 4700 mg |
Dandelion greens and frisée greens are both members of the sunflower plant family (Asteraceae), cucumbers are in the squash family (Cucurbitaceae), celery is a member of the carrot family (Apiaceae), and lemons are in the citrus family (Rutaceae).
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Welcome to 2012!
We hope that you had a joyful and healthy holiday season! January is always special time of the year for Rick and I. It is a time to rest, regroup, and set our sights on the coming year. It is also a time when we sit down and ask ourselves some formative questions: how have we progressed toward reaching our personal and professional goals and what do we want to achieve in the coming year.
Among many projects this year, we plan to continue our weekly blog posts on various health-related topics and would like to know what you want to see on this blog!
What nutrition and health topics are of interest to you? Are you interested in our travels, raw food science, our classes, and/or gardening? Are you interested in simply presented information or do you want to read about more technical topics such as nutritional biochemistry and physiology? Do you want to hear about the latest peer-reviewed nutrition research articles and clinical outcomes?
There are so many fascinating topics to share with you so we thank you for taking your time to post your questions and topics in the comment section below this blog post. We really appreciate your input!
Holiday Spices and Antioxidants
Ah, the holidays! Ever since I was a young girl I looked forward to the month of December for its festivities and time spent with family and friends. When I started on my raw food journey in 1990, I designed raw alternatives of my favorite holiday dishes and desserts to share with my loved ones. I included one of my recipes in an earlier blog post – butternut squash pudding, which has become a new holiday tradition in my family.
Spices that are often used in holiday recipes have been studied for their antioxidant content. The antioxidant activity of the compounds found in spices and foods has been measured using a system called ORAC, or oxygen radical absorbance capacity. An ORAC value of a food is a measurement of the ability of antioxidants in the food to neutralize free radicals in vitro (in a test tube or laboratory). The ORAC measurement has been questioned by members of the scientific community because it is measured in vitro and not in living organisms (in vivo). A free radical is a molecule with an unpaired electron that can cause damage to cells in our body.
Much is currently known about nutrition, and there is much that we have yet to learn. Our scientific, clinical, and experiential knowledge about nutrition is incomplete and will continue to increase as our inquiry in this area progresses. I personally would be interested to see the ORAC values of foods measured in humans and other living beings (in vivo). Hopefully this information will be available sometime in the future.
Here is a sampling of holiday spices and their respective ORAC values:
| Total ORAC value (µmol TE/100 g) | |
| Cinnamon, ground | 131,420 |
| Cloves, ground | 290,283 |
| Ginger, ground | 39,041 |
| Nutmeg, ground | 69,640 |
I was amazed to see the high ORAC value of these spices, especially when compared to popular high ORAC value foods, such as:
| Blackberries | 5,905 |
| Blueberries | 4,669 |
| Wild blueberries | 9,621 |
| Raspberries | 5,065 |
One might think, based on this information, that cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg are superior sources of antioxidant activity to the fruits stated above. The spices are superior, PER 100 GRAMS. Please note that ORAC values for foods are reported per 100 grams.
But how much of each of these spices do we actually consume in a serving? Let’s do some simple calculations using ground cloves as an example. A typical 9” round pumpkin pie recipe calls for ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves. ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves weighs approximately 1 gram. The ORAC value for 100 grams of ground cloves is 290,283. If we divide this number by 100, we get a value of almost 2903 for 1 g of ground cloves in a whole pumpkin pie.
Now, there are generally 8 pieces in an average pumpkin pie. So, if we divide 2903 by 8 we get a value of about 363 for the 0.125 grams of ground cloves in one piece of pumpkin pie. Given that ORAC values are tested and reported per 100 grams of food, I cannot say that 363 is THE ORAC value for the 0.125 grams of ground cloves found in the piece of pie. I would need actual studies to confirm or deny this number, since other possible contributory factors must be taken into account. The bottom line here is that one needs to consider nutritional information, such as ORAC values, in the context of the amounts that one actually eats.
For comparison with another type of food, let’s consider the ORAC value and the amount of blackberries in one serving. The ORAC value for 100 g of blackberries is 5,905. One cup of blackberries weighs 144 g, so the ORAC value for 100 g of blackberries is very roughly equivalent to ⅔ of a cup, which could be considered a small serving of blackberries. Whenever I eat blackberries, I usually eat more than ⅔ cup, as do many raw food enthusiasts that I know.
Looking at the actual serving sizes of ground cloves and blackberries, one can strongly question the ORAC superiority of ground cloves to blackberries, or any of the other fruits shown in the table above. Of course, we would need more information on the antioxidant activity in the amount of cloves found in a piece of pumpkin pie to make a more definitive statement.
I would love to see researchers take into account such information when doing their studies, since this would make their information more meaningful and applicable to daily life. In the meantime, we must employ our skills of critical thinking when we hear such pieces of information out of context. Critical thinking is essential in many aspects of life, including the realm of nutrition information. We will address critical thinking in future blog posts.
For those of you interested in delving more deeply into this subject, here are some interesting points to note:
- The ORAC values reported are for dried and ground spices. I am curious to know if/how the ORAC value would differ in the fresh versions of these spices, especially ginger, since it is a naturally water-rich root.
- ORAC values are measured by weight, per 100 grams. I would like to see an ORAC value comparison per calorie, and as stated earlier, per serving size.
- If the food in question is part of a recipe or processed food, what other ingredients and/or processing methods can affect the ORAC value of that food?
For more information on the ORAC values of various foods, please visit: USDA nutrient database and USDA Database for the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods, Release 2 – May 2010
Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!
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December Limes
Last week, nighttime temperatures dropped into the low 30s in our area of northern California. It is rare to have freezing temperatures here, so when the outside temperature nears 32º F, residents of this area do their best to keep their freeze-sensitive plants warm. A good example of such plants would be citrus, including limes. I love the tangy flavor of limes. One of our neighbors has several citrus plants, including limes, so I was thrilled when our very generous neighbor came over with a basket filled with limes for us. Here is a picture of some of them:
Limes are famous for their green color, which actually changes to a more yellow color as they ripen. Limes have that fabulous tangy flavor when they are still green, which tends to mellow somewhat as they ripen. Our neighbor harvested these limes when they had not fully ripened to keep them from being harmed by the cold weather.
Limes are well known for their vitamin C content, as are lemons and oranges and other members of the citrus family. I was surprised to see the calcium and iron content of limes, which per calorie, is notable.
Here are some of the nutrition highlights of limes:
| 3 peeled limes | |
| Calories | 60 |
| Vitamin C | 58.5 mg |
| Calcium | 66 mg |
| Iron | 1.21 mg |
For comparison purposes, here are some of the nutrition highlights of lemons:
| 3 peeled lemons | |
| Calories | 50 |
| Vitamin C | 92.2 mg |
| Calcium | 45 mg |
| Iron | 1.04 mg |
Per calorie, lemons have more vitamin C, limes have more calcium, and both have a similar amount of iron.
Here is a photo of an almost-ripe lime (left) and lemon (right) placed on a dark red background for contrast:
Best of health!
Dr. Karin Dina, D.C.
A Surprising Source of Iron
Once in a while, I come across a nutrient dense food that is not popularly known for its nutrient content. Recently when doing some research on plant sources of iron, I found Jerusalem artichokes. This interesting root (or more specifically, tuber) is a member of the sunflower family plant family, along with lettuce, dandelion greens, yacón, and of course, sunflower seeds.
Last spring, a friend encouraged us to grow Jerusalem artichokes in our backyard garden. Given that they have a tendency to spread wherever they are planted, we planted them in a compost/soil mixture in a barrel planter on our backyard deck. We are happy to report that our cultivation efforts were successful and have recently harvested numerous Jerusalem artichokes. Here is a sampling of our harvest:
The best way that I can describe the taste of Jerusalem artichokes is mildly sweet, similar to yacón root and jicama. As far as nutrient content is concerned, I was impressed to see the iron content of 1 cup of Jerusalem artichoke slices:
| 1 cup sliced Jerusalem artichoke (150 g) | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 110 | |
| Vitamin B3 (Niacin) | 1.93 mg | 14 – 16 mg |
| Iron | 5 mg | 8 – 18 mg |
| Potassium | 643 mg | 4700 mg |
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
Thanksgiving at the True North Health Center and Simple Salad Dressings
Hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving, we sure did! We are thankful to have enjoyed thanksgiving dinner at the True North Health Center with friends and colleagues, and we even saw a student of ours there! Here is a picture of the salad course of the meal:
This salad and the other dishes were amazing, not surprisingly. The ingredients were simple, yet delicious, the way that we like it. We do eat quite a bit of salad, given that salads are a quick and easy way to eat a good amount of vegetables. Salads can be as simple or complex as one wants and as far as dressings are concerned, the sky is the limit. Here is an example of the type of salad that Rick and I eat often:
When we are traveling, salad dressings can be a challenge to make, especially if we do not have a blender with us, which is most of the time. I know that there are many types of small travel-friendly blenders, which can come in handy. However, when we are blenderless, we have a variety of simple dressings that require minimal preparation and taste great.
One example is avocado mixed with tomato, another is lemon, orange, or pomegranate juice squeezed on the salad, and another is some type of nut butter mixed with the juice of lemon, lime or orange. One of my favorites is sesame tahini mixed with fresh squeezed lemon juice over a giant salad. Sometimes I add some type of chopped culinary herb to add some flavor.
Raw food dressings do not have to be complicated and appliances are most certainly optional, given the variety of dressings one can make without them. Knowledge of how to make simple dressings is especially helpful when traveling and appliances are in short supply.
What easy salad dressings have you made?
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Ultra simple raw food recipe for butternut squash pudding
‘Tis the season to be festive, so Rick and I thought we would share one of our favorite holiday recipes with you! We have always loved pumpkin pie, so this recipe is a raw, whole food sweetened version of the filling for the traditional favorite.
A very popular question that we are asked is “what type of sweetener do you use?” We very rarely use sweeteners in our recipes, but when we do use a sweetener, it is dates. There many possible alternative sweeteners which each may be more appropriate for specific recipes, but we prefer to use dates because they are a whole food and we enjoy the taste. We also consider simplicity and nutrient content when developing our recipes.
Here is the recipe, which makes 24 ounces or four 6-ounce servings:
- 2 Cups peeled fresh butternut squash
- 6 Medjool dates or ¾ cup of other type of dates
- ⅓ Cup soaked raw almonds (best if soaked for at least 8 hours prior to making recipe)
- ½ Cup good quality water (more may be necessary)
- 1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ Tsp. chopped fresh ginger
- ¼ Tsp. ground nutmeg
This recipe can also be used as filling for a raw pie, or one can substitute 2 cups of chopped pumpkin for the butternut squash if desired. Just remember to use pie pumpkin, which we have found to be more flavorful than the Jack-o-lantern type. 🙂
Here is how we prepare this recipe:
- Add ½ cup water to high powered blender, followed by spices and dates
- Blend until ingredients are reasonably homogenous
- Add ½ cup of butternut squash to mixture and blend, then add ½ cup of squash and blend, continue this process until all squash is blended with the mixture
- We often add some extra water during this process, if the mixture is too thick
- Add soaked almonds to the mixture and blend until mixture is completely smooth
- Pour into dessert glasses and sprinkle a pinch of ground cinnamon on top
- Chill and enjoy!
Have a Happy Thanks Living!
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
Great News about Raw Food Nutrition with Karen Ranzi in NJ
Many thanks to Karen Ranzi, author of the book Creating Healthy Children, for hosting us at her home in October for our 4-hour raw food class "Great News about Raw Food Nutrition".
In the class, we reviewed several scientific studies of long term raw food populations. We also covered several thorough and enlightening nutrient analyses from different popular raw food approaches, and a discussed the potential pros and cons of each. It was really revealing to break things down and see what nutrients are found on each of the raw food plans.
As always, we enjoyed connecting with raw food enthusiasts, sharing information, and answering questions. If you or your group would like to host us for an event in your area, please get in touch with us through the "contact us" page on this website.
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
What I learned from pomegranates
A tongue-in-cheek antidote to all of the complicated research that I read:
Pomegranates were, at one time, a fruit that I did not understand. Being from the northeast, I had never seen anyone eat one, but this did not deter my curiosity about them.
Back in the pre-internet era, the first time I attempted to eat a pomegranate, I tried to peel off the tough outer skin only to find more tough fiber on the inside interspersed with pockets of numerous seeds each surrounded by a small, delicate, dark red fluid-filled pouch that promptly burst as I tried to remove them. They are called arils.
My wood cutting board was stained a lovely shade of magenta for days after this attempt.
When I moved to northern California, I would regularly see pomegranates at the local farmer’s market and in produce departments of natural food stores during the months of November and December. I would hear from friends and students about how delicious pomegranates taste, but it was only recently when I was researching the antioxidant content of pomegranates, that I decided to revisit this fascinating fruit.
Not surprisingly, many people I know who consume pomegranates do so in the form of juice. Which raises the question: how does one juice pomegranates? I tried several juicing methods that were available in my kitchen and found that the use of a handheld citrus juicer was easiest and cleanest for me.
Here is what I did:
I cut a couple of pomegranates into quarters, placed the pomegranate quarters into the citrus squeezer one at a time, and squeezed the citrus squeezer into a large glass bowl. Out came the juice with relatively little effort and mess! So simple! And the juice was delicious - similar to cranberry juice but a lot sweeter. Both Rick and I loved it.
So, here is what I learned from this experience:
- Pomegranates do not peel like an orange. 🙂
- Using a nice bamboo or wood cutting board will very likely end in stains. Hmmmm….
- My answer to pomegranate preparation was simple. This makes me wonder what other issues that can seem complicated at first may have simple answers once one educates oneself. 🙂
What simple answers are you overlooking in your life?
Has anyone juiced pomegranates with a citrus press?
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
Early November Red Bell Peppers
This is the first year that we attempted to grow bell peppers in our garden. A friend, who is a gardener extraordinaire, came over this spring to help us build a small raised bed for our first pepper crop. Throughout the summer we watched the plants grow, flower, and then bear small fruits. The small fruits grew slowly and gradually started to change color from green to red, with some shade of brown in between. As you can see from the photo below, some turned yellow! As November neared, we wondered if the numerous peppers would fully ripen before the weather became too cold.
Last week, almost overnight, a large percentage of the peppers turned almost completely red. We were excited, so we picked a couple and enjoyed them in our salad dressing that night. We sampled the peppers and found that they were some of the most flavorful red bells that we had ever tasted. There is no doubt that home grown vegetables tend to be incredibly flavorful, especially in comparison to their store-bought counterparts. These bell peppers were certainly no exception, but rather, exceptional.
Red bell peppers are well known for their vitamin C and beta-carotene content.
Here are some of the nutrition highlights of red bell peppers:
| One cup chopped red bell pepper | |
| Calories | 46.2 |
| Vitamin C | 190.3 mg |
| Beta-carotene | 2419.8 mcg |
I also looked up the nutrient content of green bell peppers for comparison:
| One cup chopped green bell pepper | |
| Calories | 29.8 |
| Vitamin C | 119.8 mg |
| Beta-carotene | 309.9 mcg |
Per calorie, the vitamin C content of red and green bell peppers appears to be similar, at least for the samples compared. Beta-carotene content, however, is much higher per calorie in red bell peppers than green. Ripeness appears to make a difference in this case.
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe in Fairfield, CT
Many thanks to Glen Colello and Lisa Storch, for recently hosting us for two successful programs at Catch a Healthy Habit café in Fairfield, Connecticut. We did an evening talk with a food demo followed by a weekend 4-hour workshop, where we shared much information about science-based raw food nutrition.
As always, it was fun to connect with so many raw food enthusiasts to share experiences and information. For those of you in the area, Catch a Healthy Habit is a vibrant raw food café in Fairfield center with lots of great menu items including smoothies, juices, salads, entrees, and creative desserts. Glen and Lisa also host a number of great health speakers there regularly. What a great raw food and plant-based health resource – in southern CT!
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
Light Green Juice
A family member recently asked me about green juice, and expressed an interest in recipes and tips for making it tasty. I LOVE green juice and have many recipes that I enjoy, which I am happy to share. There is one challenge, this family member does not like the taste of dark leafy greens: raw, steamed, juiced, in a green smoothie, etc. This is by no means unusual, since I have met many people over the years that are turned off by the taste of greens, especially when they are new to healthy eating.
I can understand that the strong taste of such greens is often an acquired taste, and may take some “getting used to”. Since this loved one is just getting started with juicing, I shared a recipe for “light” green juice with milder-tasting ingredients, such as celery, lemon, and cucumber. This is actually the base juice that I use for my green juices with more ingredients. Here is the recipe:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
1 medium cucumber, 8” long
This recipe makes about 2 cups of juice. Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
| Light Green Juice ingredients | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 120.7 | |
| Calcium | 198.0 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.99 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 1.07 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 81.05 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 1390.39 | 4700 mg |
I love the lemony taste, but there is much one can do with green juice – the sky is most certainly the limit. I have sampled many creative and delicious green juices over the years. This one is quick and easy to make, I spend about 20 minutes from start to finish, including set up and clean up time!
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Goji Berry Plants – 4 Months Old
Our goji plants have grown quite a bit since we planted the seeds in June – it's time for transplanting 🙂
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Fall Garden Greens
Here in northern California, many different types of foods can grow throughout the fall, winter, and spring, especially greens. Right now, some of our summer crops are still producing, such as heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers, and summer squash, which are doing well despite the rain and cool night temperatures we have been experiencing lately. We do have space in our garden for fall plants, so last week, I went to a local farmer’s market, and purchased some plant starts, including red and green leaf lettuce, bok choy, and frisée greens. Here is a picture of these plants now growing in our garden:
This Sunday, we returned from a weekend out of town teaching our Science of Raw Food Nutrition I class (it was fun, as always!) to find that our starts had almost doubled in size! Right now, it appears that the frisée greens have the lead over the bok choy and lettuce, but later in the season we will see which of our greens will be the ultimate champion size-wise.
Nutritionally speaking, all of these plants have their attributes. Bok choy is often praised for its mineral content, but what about much less heard-of frisée greens?
Here are some nutrient highlights of frisée greens:
| 3 cups chopped frisée greens (150 g) | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 25.5 | |
| Calcium | 78 mg | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.24 mg | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 1.18 mg | 8 – 11 mg |
Young bok choy and frisée greens:
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Early October Figs
I love October. There are so many things to love about this beautiful month, such as the fall foliage, crispness of the air, leaf piles (dare I jump in? :)), pumpkins, the availability of certain fresh foods that are challenging to find at other times of the year, and the list goes on. One of the foods available now in northern California is fresh figs, such as those ripening on a tree in our front yard.
Before I moved to California, I thought of figs as strange looking dried fruits found in a bulk bin at my local health food store. When I first tried fresh figs, I found that the flavor and texture were quite different from the dried version. I do enjoy dried figs, and eat them from time to time, but I really enjoy fresh figs. People have asked me if I have any good fresh fig recipes – sorry, I do not. The reason why is because figs tend to disappear rather quickly in my house. 🙂
How long will these figs last in our house? Get out the stopwatch…..
The first time I saw a nutrient analysis of figs, I was amazed at the calcium and iron content, which is higher than most fruits per calorie. Potassium content is notable, too. Here are some nutrition highlights of figs:
| 6 medium figs (300 g) | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 222 | |
| Calcium | 105 mg | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.11 mg | 8 – 18 mg |
| Potassium | 696 mg | 4700 mg |
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Raw food recipe for heirloom tomato marinara sauce and summer squash noodles
Last night, Rick and I had a couple of friends over for dinner to share in our heirloom tomato harvest. 🙂 We made spiralized squash with some sunburst squash from the garden and a marinara sauce from garden tomatoes, sundried tomatoes and some other simple ingredients:
Marinara Sauce (one serving)
2 medium fresh tomatoes (2 cups chopped)
6 soaked sun dried tomatoes (1 ounce dry or 28.3 g)
½ tsp. dried oregano or other Italian spices
1 medjool or other type of date
¼ ripe avocado or one tablespoon of chia seeds
We blended the fresh tomatoes, spices, date, and avocado in a high powered blender, then added soaked sundried tomatoes and blended until smooth. For a lower fat recipe, one could leave out the avocado or chia seeds. For garlic lovers, one could add ¼ clove of fresh garlic. We used heirloom tomatoes from our garden for this recipe, but popular red varieties would work well too.
To make squash pasta, we used a vegetable spiralizer. The resultant “noodles” had the consistency of linguine al dente, since the squash used was mature – we let some of the summer squash in our garden get a little too big this year.
In general, for spiralizing, we like to use squash or zucchini that is younger in order to create softer noodles. We added the noodles to a bed of romaine lettuce mixed with chopped red bell pepper:
Summer squash pasta and salad (one serving)
4 cups spiralized yellow summer squash served on a bed of 4 cups of lettuce mixed with 1 cup of chopped red bell pepper.
Here are some nutrients in the sauce, pasta, and salad:
| Recipes | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calcium | 245 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 8.4 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Magnesium | 239 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 4125 | 4700 mg |
| Zinc | 3.7 | 8 – 11 mg |
Here is a picture of the final dish:
It was sooooo good 🙂
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