The Best and Worst Foods We Are Eating. What Foods Should Be Bought Organic?

• Ways to add Vitamins and Fiber to our Diet

Everyday we hear more about the things that we are doing wrong in life concerning our health and more specifically our diet. There are some small things a busy mom or the family cook can do to make food more nutritious without changing too much in your routine and diet.

First My family loves pasta recipes so I try to find whole grain pasta. After just a few meals they decided they actually liked the chewier texture better.

Second When I am baking it is so easy to add little things like flax seed meal, wheat germ,and I especially use whole wheat flour where the recipe will allow.

Third I like to mince vegetables up and "hide" them in food for picky eaters. This is especially helpful for toddlers that either don't have the teeth yet to chew the vegetables or refuse to eat things like broccoli and carrots. This adds lots of Vitamin A ,B and C. Not to forget the fiber.

Fourth Children love snack food and it is easy to make them tastier by adding a little healthy dip made with low fat or fat free sour cream. You can also use different nut butters on the veggies like peanut butter on celery. I like to make my own sour cream with low fat cottage cheese and a little lemon juice .I put it in the blender and puree and nobody knows the difference. Other healthier snack options include baked chips and cracker. Fruit chips are great for your sweet tooth. You can even measure your snack out in a little snack baggie (about a third the size of a regular sandwich bag) These are good for measuring out animal crackers or graham cracker snack cookies, jelly beans or homemade snack mix. Make your own snack mix with real chocolate chips, unsalted almonds, raisins or cranraisins, whole wheat Chex Mix cereal and maybe a few salted peanuts. Your kids will get used to this quickly and love it. No need to add the extra butter and bake.

Fifth My husband will take vitamins but I prefer he and I get them more naturally so we will often make a smoothie with coconut milk or almond milk and fruit we like , yogurt, greek is especially good with it's high protein count. I then add liquid vitamins and vegetable juices such as spinach or carrot juice in small amounts. We like natural pomegranate juice plus resveratrol, glucosamine for joints,and green envy daily detox.

Sixth We us skim or low fat milk milk in all recipes and I have found I can even substitute yogurt for some of the milk. I like to use applesauce to decrease the amount of fat in our diet.

Seventh Making healthy popcorn is a great snack and we like the sweet and salty so I use a little of the sweetener made from Stevia extract and iodized salt in the olive oil or coconut oil in the pan. The popcorn is very tasty and does not need butter. If you HAVE to use the butter use the spray on kind and just use a little.

Eighth I try to keep a pitcher of cold water in the refrigerator to encourage everyone to drink water instead of soft drinks. We don't even stock soft drinks any more accept for ginger ale to calm an upset stomach.

Ninth We use low fat creamer or better yet low fat flavored half and half with raw sugar for your coffee or honey.

Tenth I have started cooking with coconut oil.

The Dirty Dozen

There are 12 foods that you SHOULD always BUY ORGANIC. They are:

Celery

Potatoes

Spinach

Rasberries

Grapes

Apples

Blueberries

Strawberries

Cherries

Leafy greens

Pears

Peaches

Tip: Make a list or put these in your phone to refer to them when shopping.

Sixteen Safe Foods

There has become increasing fear in the pesticides in our foods. At the present time there are 16 safe foods;

papaya

watermelon

kiwi

sweet corn

sweet potato

onions

mangoes

pineapples

sweet peas

broccoli

asparagus

cabbage

eggplant

avocado

tomato

grapefruit

If you are not able to buy these organic you can make homemade fruit and vegetable cleaner

- 1 cup water

- 1 cup white vinegar

- 1 TB baking soda

- 1/2 lemon

Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray your produce. Let the solution sit on your fruits and veggies for about 5 minutes before rinsing it off. Vinegar is anti-bacterial and lemon is a natural astringent

Reference:

Dr Memet Oz.

Organic Coffee

In doing research I found that coffee has an extremely high amount of pesticides in it and have decided to go organic. Being very frugal this poses a little problem for me but in doing some research I found a reasonable price online at Costco. I mention this store quite a bit only because we are members there and I get a nice cash back with their American Express Card. I imagine Sam's Club and BJ's' s also carry this. You could also look for coupons and sales at your local grocery store or join a club such as Green Mountain where you can find Fairtrade and organic coffee sold there.

There are seven foods that give us a health boost and should be eaten often. They are so easy to keep available . I throw spinach on everything, frozen or homemade pizza, it bakes right into the cheese. Put some blueberries on your oatmeal or muffins. Add walnuts to the oatmeal and baked goods. You can get frozen organic at Costco or Sam's. Grill salmon outside or buy some salmon burgers and load them up with raw spinach instead of lettuce. Use honey for sweetening everything. Who does not want a daily dose of dark chocolate. ENJOY!!!!

spinach

blueberries

walnuts

honey

dark chocolate

oats

salmon

Recipes Using Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil Recipe

Coconut Oil Mayonnaise

One egg
4 tbsp cider vinegar (try 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar plus 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar or 4 tbsp of rice vinegar)
1/2-tsp salt
1/2-tsp dry mustard
Spike or other seasoning to taste

Later

3/4 cup coconut oil plus 1/4 cup extra virgin oil

Add the above ingredients to your blender. Then very slowly dribble into blender one cup of oil consisting of about 3/4-cup coconut oil (melted and cooled) plus 1/4-cup extra virgin olive oil to the blender and blend till smooth. (The more coconut oil, the thicker the dressing). (If oil added too fast, or oil is too hot, mixture will curdle).

Lite Ranch Dressing

1-1/4 cup buttermilk
4-6 tbsp or so sour cream, cream cheese or honey yogurt
Onion flakes to taste
Garlic powder to taste
Salt
Juice of one lemon
Spike to taste or other seasoning
Black pepper
Parsley flakes

Use the coconut oil mayonnaise recipe til thick and tasty.

Blend until smooth. Refrigerate. This dressing will thicken as it cools. You can use it instead of mayonnaise and can dilute it with more buttermilk if you want a thinner Ranch dressing. If this tastes too tart, add a little honey.

Other suggestions for using coconut oil in your diet:

1) When you make pastries, substitute 50% coconut oil for whatever fat is recommended, hopefully butter.

2) When you fry or sauté eggs, fish, veggies or whatever, toss in some coconut oil. Add butter or olive oil you wish, for flavor.

Good Morning Muffins thanks to Coconut Oil Supreme

Preparation 25 min.

Baking 20 min.

Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup re-hydrated, desiccated coconut (re-hydrate ½ cup coconut with 2 T maple syrup and 2 T water; mix and let stand for approx. 30 minutes until liquid is absorbed)
• 1/2 cup raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries or currants
• 2 medium (1 cup) carrots, very finely grated ( I use a Microplane zester for very fine shreds)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Heat oven to 375°F. Combine sugar and coconut oil in large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy (1 to 2 minutes). Add sour cream and eggs. Continue beating until well mixed (1 to 2 minutes). Stir in coconut, raisins and carrots by hand.

Stir together flour, baking soda and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add flour mixture to sour cream mixture; stir just until moistened.

Spoon batter into greased (with coconut oil) 12-cup muffin pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Note: When the carrots are very finely shredded they tend to almost disappear during baking while giving the muffins a nice orange color and making the muffins uniformly moist. The Microplane Zester can be purchased economically at Lee Valley Tools . (They have a lot of nice products and are a great company to deal with.)

Recently we have been hearing a lot about the benefits of using coconut oil. It can be used to replace any other oil or butter in cooking . We used to be afraid of coconut oil but now we know it can be very beneficial.

Coconut oil is also used to help wounds heal faster, for dry skin and is a great massage oil

Benefits of Coconut Oil

What Coconut Oil Does Do:

• Reduces risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease
• Reduces risk of cancer and other degenerative conditions
• Helps prevent bacterial, viral, and fungal (including yeast) infections
• Supports immune system function
• Helps control diabetes
• Provides an immediate source of energy
• Supports healthy metabolic function
• Improves digestion and nutrient absorption
• Supplies important nutrients necessary for good health
• Promotes weight loss
• Helps prevent osteoporosis
• Has a mild delicate flavor
• Is highly resistant to spoilage (long shelf life)
• Is heat resistant (the healthiest oil for cooking)
• Helps keep skin soft and smooth
• Helps prevent premature aging and wrinkling of the skin
• Helps protect against skin cancer and other blemishes
• Functions as a protective antioxidant

How to Cook with Coconut Oil

Use Coconut Oil For:

• frying or sauteing
• on hot cereal
• as a spread for toast
• on steamed vegetables, baked potatoes or rice
• in hot beverages such as coffee or tea
• in smoothies
• for popping corn

In cooking and recipes use about 25% coconut oil to regular butter or oil.

Thanks to Coconut Oil Supreme

Organic coconut oil has been known to have antimicrobial benefits. It helps to fight cancer, prevent thyroid problems and can fight weight gain

La-uric acid, the major fatty acid in coconut oil and breast milk, is rarely present in the American diet. Yet saturated fats are still being called the health culprits while grocery stores abound with many kinds of seed and nut oils. Many have been told that if the unsaturated oilis unprocessed, it is safe. This is untrue. The harmful effects of unsaturated oil lie in their unsaturation, or the presence of many double bonds, which are very labile and easily per oxidized (become rancid inside the body).

Reference Peat, Raymond Ph.D

What is Coconut Oil Made of?

What are the oils in Coconut Oil made up of:

The saturated fat part is the lauric acid that is also found in breast milk. It is thought that these fats are helpful in increasing the good cholesterol in the body.

The polyunsaturated part of the oil is mostly a fatty acid called linoleic acid

The monounsaturated oil in coconut oil is a fatty acid also named oleic acid

There are poly-phenols of gallic acid and/or phenolic acid .These acids are responsible for the taste and soothing smell of the oil. It is often used for massage and can help relieve tension.

Organic coconut has the same composition as coconut oil but it is a little clearer and has a nicer odor because it is not exposed to high temperatures and sunlight .It is also not processed . The benefits of organic over regular are still unclear.

It is also thought that coconut oil is a much better oil when solid oil is needed.

Reference Wikipedia

I have lupus and osteoarthritis. In my desire to become more healthy I have been using flax seed oil and coconut oil. To my happy amazement I have begun to shed unwanted pounds especially around the tummy area. This is a major concern for men and women. The momentum stores fat in and around your "belly" that can lead to heart disease. Even though this is something we see as we age it is also something we should work hard to fight. For me these oils, flax and coconut have begun to show promise. Don't forget to exercise too. Even yard work and house work can be exercise. God made our bodies to function and movement leads to more movement. Good luck.

Helpful Links

http://hubpages.com/hub/--Buy-Organic-Online

For homemade breakfast bars

http://www.grouprecipes.com/79436/yummy-breakfast-brunch-bars.html

Where to buy organic food online