Recipe Articles

Most store bought food coloring contains toxic ingredients such as FD&C Yellow 5, FD&C Red 40, and Propylene glycol.  Instead of feeding our bodies these harmful chemicals, you can make your own homemade safe and natural food coloring that can be used to dye eggs, create art on plates, and more!

To begin choose your vegetable of choice; I used beets, sweet potatoes, and kale. Using a mandolin or knife thinly slice the veggies and dehydrate until almost crispy.  Then place in a blender until a fine powder is created.  

Note: If you don’t own a dehydrator you can purchase already dehyrated vegetables in most natural grocery stores.

At this stage you can use the edible vegetable powder to add color to dishes.  The powder is mostly flavorless, but creates a visually pleasing look.

Create homemade vegetable food coloring by adding water to the powders and then straining through cheese cloth or a find mesh strainer.  Some particles will be left in the solution, but I think they add a colorful dimension.

Using a spoon dab some of the vegetable dye onto white plates for an artistic look!

Use can also “paint” the entire plate using a silicone basting brush.  Allow the thin layer of vegetable dye to dry at room temperature. You will then have an edible, colorful plate to present your food upon!

This natural vegetable food coloring can also be used to dye eggs.  However, instead of using water to create the dye, use vinegar as it will help the color to soak in.  The eggs will turn a soft pastel color, perfect for Easter time!

The possibilities of color combinations are endless and you can also use fruits such as blueberries, pomegranate, plums, and cranberries to create the dyes.

Have fun playing with your food!

Could garlic be the cause of stomach aches?

Have you ever experienced a stomach ache after eating garlic?

When eating garlic, some people may experience abdominal discomfort or severe pain. This happens because they consume foods that are very high in fructans which you wouldn’t know or thought about it.

I took a cooking class in Rome and I learned an interesting fact from my Italian instructor. He informed us that if you eat the middle green part of garlic that it will make your stomach gurgle and feel unpleasant.

So now every time I cook garlic, I always remove the middle sprouting part.

To remove the green sprouting part, cut the garlic in half length- wise and then peel out the middle. The end result should look like this…

How to fight garlic allergy?

Many adults, do suffer from asthma that are caused by short exposure to certain types of chemicals, dust and pollution during their daily lifes.

For the purpose of this post we will talk about garlic allergies.

Be aware if you are asthmatic with frequent shortness of breath when closely exposed to raw garlic. The reason being is: dust. You walk through a market or supermarket alley and suddenly you feel tired and/or have some difficulty to breath.

This may trigger a serious asthma attack and can quickly escalate if not treated due to other types of dust around you.

Another potential complication from a garlic allergy is anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially fatal allergic reaction. But be reassured this is quite rare.

A very low percentage of humans will suffer from anaphylaxis (thanks God for that) which can be caused by garlic allergy. Experts say that it’s more likely to occur from exposure to raw garlic bunches.

Bonus tip:

You can read on Dr.Axe’ post and discover how to create some natural home remedies. to fight this unwanted and nasty condition.

What are your thoughts on garlic in general?

Have you seen the new movie “Fed Up”?  It spotlights America’s obsession with sugar and lack of exercise, due to the lies the government has led us to believe. The movie poster highlights the words, “Congress says Pizza is a Vegetable”.  Sadly, some people believe that is true.  America needs to learn that tomato paste is NOT a vegetable and French Fries do NOT count as a daily serving of fruits & veggies.

If you need motivation to start eating healthier and working out, then this movie is a good start.  View the Fed Up movie trailer here: http://fedupmovie.com/#/page/home. What you are your thoughts on this movie?

Incentives can be a powerful tool to achieve a desired end result.  Would you eat more fruits & vegetables if you knew you would earn a prize? The government is currently funding a $31 million grant program to find out that exact question… can incentives increase the fruits and vegetables consumption of low-income consumers?

In 2012 the USDA, performed a similar study in which they allowed SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) households to receive 30 cents on every SNAP dollar spent on specific fruits and vegetables. The cost savings incentive increased consumption of these specific fruits and vegetables of about one quarter of a cup per day.

In the United Kingdom, researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh, Essex, and Bath gave elementary students a star for every time they choose a portion of fruits or vegetables at lunch time or if they brought it from home.  After a student earned 4 stars they would earn a prize such as a highlighter pen.  Once the incentive program was removed from the school, the majority of the children continued to eat more fruits and vegetables.

If you are struggling to eat your veggies, maybe an incentive is what you need to get motivated!

There are many types of plant based diets, some are based on cultural and religious beliefs and others choose them for the health benefits.  All of these diets/lifestyle habits are good because they focus on consuming high amounts of fruits & vegetables.

• Vegan (or total vegetarian): Excludes all animal products, especially meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. Does not require consumption of whole foods or restrict fat or refined sugar.
• Raw food, vegan: Same exclusions as veganism as well as the exclusion of all foods cooked at temperatures greater than 118°F.
• Lacto-vegetarian: Excludes eggs, meat, seafood, and poultry and includes milk products.
• Ovo-vegetarian: Excludes meat, seafood, poultry, and dairy products and includes eggs.
• Lacto-ovo vegetarian: Excludes meat, seafood, and poultry and includes eggs and dairy products.
• Mediterranean: Similar to whole foods, plant-based diet but allows small amounts of chicken, dairy products, eggs, and red meat once or twice per month. Fish and olive oil are encouraged. Fat is not restricted.
• Whole-foods, plant-based, low-fat:Encourages plant foods in their whole form, especially vegetables, fruits, legumes, and seeds and nuts (in smaller amounts). For maximal health benefits this diet limits animal products. Total fat is generally restricted.

Researchers are finding that plant-based diets make great weight loss programs, as you can loss 1 pound per week without exercising.  These diets have also been proven to lower obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.
— Hippocrates, c 460-370 BCE, ancient Greek physician known as the father of modern medicine

Information was obtained from The Permanente Journal/ Spring 2013/ Volume 17 No. 2. Click link to read the full article.

We all need to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, but how much should we be consuming per day?

Everyone should at have least 5 portions of (seasonal) fresh fruit and vegetables a day.

For example, adults should have at least 80g of fruit and/or vegetables in their diet.

Children should also eat fruits and veggies, at least 5 portions a day, all  depending on their age and daily activity.

See NHS live well (U.K.)

If you are based in US – The Center for Disease Control and Prevention created several calculators that tells us exactly how much we should eat based on our age group, sex, and daily activity levels.

Check the BMI* Calculator for Child and Teens

Adult BMI Calculator

This calculator provides body mass index (BMI) and the corresponding BMI weight status category for adults 20 years and older.

*BMI – stands for: Body Mass Index