A Good Brew

6.24

Years ago I was a coff-alholic - I consumed significant quantities of coffee daily, with little regard for how much I was actually drinking. Then at some point, maybe about 15 years ago, I realized that the rush of caffeine was less energizing and more stressful than what I wanted to live with. I bailed out and felt much better over time. One problem is that I really enjoy a good, hot mug of fresh, black coffee.

Since adjusting my coffee consumption, I've ebbed and flowed between decaf (it can really be a poor stand-in for regular coffee) and no coffee at all. Recently, I've found a better middle ground of a cup or two a day, several days a week. Not nearly the highs and lows of caffeine I experienced years ago.

So is coffee good for you or bad for you? The answer is really a bit of both. Much depends on how it is prepared (high-quality water and fresh ground, appropriately roasted beans) and how much we consume. There are great anti-oxidants in fresh brewed coffee, and numerous, everyday health benefits.

Check out this article from Dr. Josh Axe on the top 8 Health Benefits of Coffee. Coffee is great for heart health, liver health, and controlling things like asthma and Type 2 diabetes. Beyond those, coffee increases energy and mental concentration, fights depression and improves athletic performance.

The key to benefiting from coffee consumption, like so many things, is moderation. Thankfully, I've landed at that place of moderation myself, after all these years, and I think I'm at a sustainable place. If you're a coff-aholic, like I was years ago, consider cutting back to a few cups of coffee a day. If you're not a coffee drinker, no need to start, but maybe you'll develop a taste for the aromatic, tasty brew that has revved up societies for centuries.

By the Way

Be aware of numerous coffee look-alikes, that aren't the real thing. A lot of high-volume coffee vending comes from reconstituted coffee concentrate that may contain stabilizers, preservatives and 'natural flavors' to extend shelf life and yield a good-tasting end product. It's not the real thing, even if they've mimicked good tasting coffee.

Add Yogurt to Your Pantry

5.11

Fermented foods are just plain good for you, and the most common and available is yogurt. Our gut has a 'microbiome' which benefits from healthy bacteria, and fermented foods offer great bacteria for our overall health.

Probiotic foods like yogurt, kombucha, sauerkraut and kimchi all offer healthy bacteria, which hold a host of benefits. Healthy bacteria can even 'crowd out' unhealthy bacteria in our gut, giving further reasons to having beneficial probiotics over unfermented foods.

Check out this great article from Dr. Josh Axe on why the most accessible fermented food, yogurt, should be included in our pantries.
10 Benefits of probiotic yogurt

An important thing to keep in mind is to source your dairy from the most raw, grass-fed, high quality dairy possible. Yogurt from goat's milk or sheep's milk is best, but hormone-free, grass-fed cow's milk yogurt is a close contender.

So add some beneficial dairy to your pantry, and improve your gut health, blood pressure, weight and mood.

By the Way

The most beneficial yogurt is one with active probiotic cultures, and little to no added sugars. Common production yogurts full of fructose, sugar and fruit purees are often giving you way too much sugar, and are likely sourced from hormone-treated dairy cows (to increase their milk production.) And Greek yogurt (as well as Greek-style yogurt) are dubious in their health benefits, at best. Check out this article from Dr. Axe on the issues with Greek yogurt...

A Simple Holiday Fruit

4.34

There are notable holiday foods that make memories, are healthy, and are worth sharing with others. One of my favorites is pomegranates. Available mainly between September and January (in North America), pomegranates make a wonderful, healthful addition to holiday meals.

Pomegranates are an ancient fruit which has been cultivated since Biblical times, and originally hails from the Middle East and Mediterranean. There are numerous worthwhile benefits from the sweet and tart juice, along with the edible seeds. You'll find the whole fruit, and juices, available in your grocery store. When shopping for pomegranate juice, be sure to get the 100% juice, as other 'cocktail' juices contain numerous fruit juices (like pear and apple) and often have sugar as well.

The incredible health benefits of pomegranates makes them a welcomed part of a wellness lifestyle. If apples, grapes and bananas have gotten a bit boring, try throwing in a pomegranate. I like this detailed article from Dr. Josh Axe, describing the top 7 benefits of pomegranates and their juice:
Dr. Axe on pomegranates

You'll note benefits like fighting cancer, lowering blood pressure, reducing join pain & arthritis, heart health and increasing testosterone. Quite a lot of benefits from one simple fruit.

The fruit has a unique configuration of seeds within the heavy rind, with each seed surrounded by a juicy aril. The arils and seeds are all edible, and packed with goodness. Pomegranates are known for beneficial values of vitamin K, vitamin C, folate, potassium and more. They pack a lot of nutritional punch.

So give pomegranates a try this holiday season. You may find a new favorite fruit for your power pantry, and your body will thank you for the health and wellness it offers.

By the Way

Cleaning a whole pomegranate isn't the easiest task. The juicy arils and seeds are encapsulated in the meaty rind of the fruit, and it takes a bit of patience and persistence to get it opened and cleaned. But the flavor and benefits are worth the effort. And be careful, because the juice will stain clothes and cutting boards, etc.

Better Holiday Sweetener

4.32

It's the holiday season! One of my favorite times of the year... and a challenging time to eat in a healthful way and make nutrient-dense choices. And because I have a sweet tooth, I'm especially challenged by holiday sweets.

I've shared about a sweet-cheat before in Power Pantry, and I want to reinforce this great substitute for the sugary empty calories we consume at the holidays. Enter the humble date. These fruity, substantial and satisfyingly sweet treats are born of the date palm, and harken back thousands of years to middle-eastern roots.

Dates are still grown in those same middle-eastern countries where they have always been, and they also come from places in the US like California and Florida. These sugary-sweet morsels live up to their history and are worth every bite. The larger, more tender medjool date is especially tasty, with a smoother texture than its common cousin, the Deglet Nour date.

With a creamy texture and great flavor, medjool dates can almost pass for a candy-like caramel. And with a little creativity, dates can be made into tasty pastes and syrups that are a wonderful replacement for honey, maple syrup and agave nectar. 

Currently, I'm reconnecting with dates for my mid-run energy boost. I've been honing my running regimen and I don't do energy gels (which are full of corn-everything.) But dates? They are naturally sugary, full of useful glucose and sucrose carbs for mid-run.

Dates also have valuable antioxidants, and nutrients like potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. That is a much better roster than any energy gel.

So consider stocking some dates in your pantry this holiday season, and keep an eye out for where you can include these wonderful, ancient sweeteners in your holiday cooking. Your body will thank you for caring so much, and you may just find a new favorite recipe.

By the Way

Check out what Dr. Josh Axe says about dates and the value they bring to sweetening our diet:
Dr. Axe on Medjool Dates

Mushrooms for Health

4.25

Mushrooms often get a bad rap. It is said that there are two opinions on mushrooms - you either love them or hate them. What many haters don't consider is how healthful mushrooms can be as part of your pantry.

From significant antioxidants and cancer-inhibitors, to copper, calcium and selenium, mushroom varieties offer all kinds of nutrient-rich benefits. You get fiber and low carbs with mushrooms as well; great for controlling diabetes and contributing to heart health.

There are lots of edible mushroom varieties, but the most beneficial are not as commonly know. Most popular are the white button mushrooms, portabello and crimini, but these aren't the most nutritious.

Check out some of the mushroom varieties reviewed by Dr. Andrew Weil in this post:
Dr Weil on mushroom varieties

Even so, there are still distinct health benefits from mushrooms of all varieties. See this article from Dr. Josh Axe:
Dr. Axe on mushroom health benefits

Please note: it is always best to consume mushrooms which are cooked. Raw mushrooms are known to have carcinogens which are cooked off at high temperatures (like from broiling, grilling or sauteing). So be sure to cook your mushrooms before enjoying them as part of a nutrient-dense menu.

Pick up some mushrooms today and enjoy the savory, meaty flavors and textures, and enjoy the health benefits which go with them.

By the Way

Almost half (47%) of all commercial mushrooms, worldwide, are grown in a small PA community in Chester County, just west of Philadelphia. Kennett Square is the small town that has the distinction of "mushroom capital of the world"... literally. See more information here.

FitnessPals and Beet Juice

3.21

I was talking with a business colleague a few weeks ago about some wellness discoveries he is making, and how he is benefiting in significant ways. He also shared one of his recent discoveries about beet juice with me, which got me thinking and researching. One thing he tried out some time ago was MyFitnessPal, and took it seriously, logging his food choices consistently and making appropriate additions and deletions. Now he is training for and running in half-marathons and has seen his weight drop and energy increase.

I love hearing power pantry stories like his. Stories outlining how life wasn't terrible or unhinged, but could obviously be better. And then this new world of nutritional excellence and discerning choices opens up, and voila', unanticipated benefits begin to accrue.

And I really appreciate that he mentioned about the substantial benefits of beet juice. As a new runner, he was trying to improve his times and endurance, and had found that beet juice was giving him an edge. Making the hand-off of a personal discovery solidifies our place in the lifestyle wellness community - we're in it together...So here are some things I looked into and am learning about the numerous benefits of beet juice as well:

• the micronutrients and antioxidants in beet juice aid in cleansing and detox
• betaine in beet juice fights inflammation in tissue which can reduce the effects of arthritis, skin issues like acne, heart disease and things like kidney stones and gout
• beet juice lowers blood pressure by helping our bodies produce nitric oxide which relaxes and dilates blood vessels
• it assists with the absorption of oxygen, providing more stamina in workouts and cardio exertion

Check out some of these resources on how beets are a natural source of nutritional health and healing:
Dr. Mercola on the benefits of beets
Beet juice benefits from The Best of Raw Food website

So if you want to try out a great, nutritionally-dense raw food that your body will love, give beets and beet juice a try. And wherever you are in your journey of wellness, share what you're learning with someone and maybe you'll be helping them on their journey as well.

By the Way

Because beet juice helps with the absorption of oxygen, it is also known for improving endurance and reducing your time in running events. While the effect doesn't seem to benefit Olympic-level athletes (they apparently reach their ideal oxygen absorption through years of extensive training) studies show beet juice is helpful for the novice to moderate athlete. You could try cold-pressed beet juices like those from Naked Juice, or supplements from Beet Elite, if you're really serious.

Simple Wellness - Get Real

3.4

The Power of the Pantry

Fourth post in a Simple Wellness series...

If we're committed to a wellness journey, we've set a vision for our health, and started down the road to resetting our food choices, then we've got to work on our pantries. What lurks in a majority of American pantries is scary. There are not a lot of 'real' foods, even though a lot of what we stock may be edible. Real foods are unprocessed, nutrient-dense, and as fresh as possible.

Have you stood and stared at your pantry or fridge lately? Seen anything edible that just isn't food? We have a few things... some salty snacks, starchy sides and sugary breakfast cereals, but we stock mostly real foods, and reap the benefits of eating them.

Real, nutrient-dense foods afford us the healthiest bang for our calorie buck. We benefit from fiber, minerals, micronutrients and phytochemicals in fresh foods. Think veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds, and whole grains. Dr. Joel Fuhrman likes to describe 'GBOMBS' as his quick label to remember 'Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries and Seeds.' If we've reset our food choices, these five categories are absolute winners to give our bodies the healthy nutrition they crave.

A great way to integrate real foods is to purge our pantries of the most processed offenders, and begin including as many real foods as possible. Then we can set simple goals in our meal planning and food preparation to have more and more of our meals feature real foods (and only real foods). Let's say we eat about 20 meals a week (7 days times 3 meals a day...) If we had one real-food meal a day, that would yield about 30% of our meals being health, and 70% being regular choices. 


As weeks and months go, it can be simple to grow that ratio to 50/50, then 60/40 (so now we're closer to 2 meals a day being real food) all the way to 80/20. An 80/20 goal for real-food to standard food is valuable. At that level our cells are being nourished and we even have the opportunity to reverse some disease patterns and symptoms.

Here are some real-food meal suggestions: Breakfast can be a smoothie with greens, chia seeds and fresh fruit, or a hearty oatmeal or muesli with dried fruits and healthy nuts. Lunch could include a big salad with a small portion of fish or beans. Supper can feature a healthier meat like broiled chicken breast or salmon, with steamed veggies and a baked sweet potato.

And here and there, a regular old burger-and-fries, or pancakes-and-bacon meal is okay. Not to binge on comfort food, and blow your wellness accomplishments, but just to scratch that itch of wanting something from your 'old' pantry.

So find a great, healthful cookbook (Dr. Fuhrman publishes the 'Eat to Live Cookbook', and it's a good one) or a great book of smoothie recipes, and launch into your new, real, healthful choices. 

By the Way

A critical step on a journey to a healthful 80/20 diet is the selection of snacks. Here again, ditch the packaged snacks, like crackers and candy bars, and go for the simplest real foods you can find. A piece of fresh fruit is great, or dried fruits and nuts work well too. Take your time nibbling, though, and be careful with portions, because fruit has a lot of natural sugar, and nuts pack a lot of fats that can have you bulked up on calories in no time. 

Get to the Root

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One thing I've learned about a power pantry wellness lifestyle is that there is always something else to learn. Around every corner is a new adventure in information, if we're open to looking for it. And with the Internet at our fingertips we have every reason for our lives to be rich with good information.

I've been intrigued by root vegetables lately, likely because it is fall. I never paid a lot of attention to beets, turnips, parsnips and rutabagas. These are great vegetables and valuable sources of vitamins and nutrients. Fall is a wonderful time to roast some root vegetables and enjoy the tastes, textures and nutrition of the season.

Here are some thoughts on great root vegetables:

• Rutabagas,or yellow turnips, are thought to be a cross between a turnip and cabbage, and have been cultivated since the 1600's in Europe. They are a great source of vitamin C.
• Beets, or beetroot, are the taproot of the beet plant. High in folate and manganese, they are great cooked, raw or pickled. Some varieties have a high sugar content, like the sugar beet, and are cultivated for refined sugar production
• Parsnips are a root very much like a carrot, but actually sweeter. They are rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins, and are an especially good source of potassium. Be careful with the shoot and greens of parsnips, as the sap is toxic and causes a rash a lot like poison ivy.
• Turnips are part of the Brassica family, like rutabagas, but common turnips are the white variety. They are high in vitamin C, and the greens are commonly eaten as well, and are a good source of vitamin A, folate, vitamin C, vitamin K and calcium; greens are also high in lutein.

So give root vegetables a try with dinner one night soon. A simple roasting pan with coarsely cut up root vegetables and some diced turkey or chicken breast would make a great meal; a little salt and pepper, maybe a chopped onion or two and roast until the meat is cooked, and you can enjoy the tastes of the harvest season, and healthy, nutritional root vegetable as well.

By the Way

Carrots are a staple root vegetable which are common, nutritious and tasty, and are a great source of vitamin A and beta-carotene. Did you know that carrot come in a variety of colors? While orange carrots are found in the produce section the world over, there are also red, purple, pink and more.

What Our Bodies Want

2.30
Most western culture is really confused about wellness and healthy eating. For all the perspectives on one side of an issue, there are just as many on the opposite. What I think the back-and-forth debating misses, though, is the vital question of 'what do our bodies want?'

Instead of what our bodies want, we get stuck on what our minds want. Without ever thinking about it, we feed ourselves with what our minds say is wonderful and desirable. The problem is, what our minds choose, and what our bodies would choose, if they could, are vastly different.

Our minds are programmed to prepare, prepare, prepare. Get ready for ________ (a shortage, a drought, a famine) by packing on stores of fat. And when our minds are playing that message over and over and over (loudly!) our bodies are happy to oblige by filling up on easy calories, often empty calories. The three most dangerous catalysts for ill health (that would answer our minds' call to pack on weight) are fatty foods, sweet foods and salty foods. Something like a fast-food milkshake wields all three and our minds cry out, "YES!" when we drink it, even though our bodies will cry out, "what have you done?!" mere minutes or hours later.

We really need to listen to what our bodies want, instead of what our minds want. These desires are simple and much more healthful, but these aren't what our minds would cry out for. What our bodies want are whole foods which are nutrient dense and fiber rich. When combined with ample amounts of fresh, filtered water, you have a recipe for a thriving metabolism and healthful life.

How do we get to the point of desiring what our bodies want, instead of what our minds insist is desirable? The short answer is 'retraining'. We need to get our bodies so healthy and vibrant from eating the healthful foods, that our minds final come around to admitting that kale wins over dinner rolls, and fresh fruit wins over ice cream. Eventually our minds will develop a firmly grounded context for making healthy choices because, stored fat or not, the healthful choice has brought us pain-free health and longevity, exactly what our minds ultimately desire.

So start your retraining now, today. Consume nutrient-dense, fiber-rich whole foods, and enjoy copious amounts of filtered water. Leave behind a modern diet of processed, refined grains and sugars, and fatty and salty foods as well. Your body will thank you for it in no time, and you'll be on your way to health by giving your body what it wants.

By the Way

I've posted a lot in the past with guidance from Dr. Joel Fuhrman that leads directly to healthier choices of nutrient-dense foods. Check out those posts here:
Power Pantry posts regarding Dr. Fuhrman

And for some content on detoxing from a standard American diet to a more healthful plant-based diet, check previous posts here:
Power Pantry post on detoxing

From the Good Side

2.8
When I began my wellness journey years ago, I researched bodily pH and acid/alkaline balance in food. It was fascinating to me, and I committed much of it to memory. There is great information available on how our bodies metabolize foods and the fact that some foods, when digested, cause our pH to go up (become more alkaline) and some cause it to go down (become more acidic). What you realize as you dig further into the topic is that eating from the 'good' side of the charts (the alkaline forming side) supports whole food / raw food choices in our power pantry.

There is no denying that we live in a time of great health opportunity. I think the big question is whether we will step up and make the healthful choices available to us. The evidence is overwhelming... simple whole and raw foods (alkaline-forming foods) are vital to our health. Processed and refined foods (acid-forming foods) hold little nutritional value for the calories they impart, and are much more detrimental to our health.

So, what kinds of foods am I referring to on the good side and the bad side? Check out this acid / alkaline food chart from pHMiracle Living:
Acid / Alkaline Food Chart

An example Acid/Alkaline Food Chart

For a visual and nutritional information feast, go to Google Images and search for "acid alkaline food chart", and peruse some of the results. What you quickly realize is that whole, raw foods are more alkaline-forming as we metabolize them, and processed meats, refined grains and carbohydrates, as well as things like soda and sweeteners, are all acid-forming as we digest them.

I won't get into the details of how these acid-forming foods affect our health, but here is one resource to consider, from Dr. Andrew Weil, MD, who heads up the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, and has tremendous resources on anti-inflamatory eating and wellness. Here is a brief Q&A from Dr. Weil on acid-forming foods and alkaline-forming benefits:
Eating to Protect Bones

Have a look at your pantry and refrigerator today... where can you reduce the kinds of processed and refined foods which are more acid-forming (and much less healthful) and increase the alkaline-forming whole foods you eat? Begin to increase those alkaline-forming foods to the point where 80% or more of your calories come from the 'good' side of the chart, and your body and health will thank you for it.

By the Way

While you may find some inconsistent information on the web as to exactly where foods fall on the acid/alkaline charts, the basic premise is that the more refined they are, the more acid-forming they are (and less healthful). Just think fresh, raw, whole foods, and stock up on those wherever you can, and you'll be on your way to improving your power pantry.

The Magic Bullet

2.4
I got the coolest health-nut gift for Christmas... a NutriBulletPRO 900 (by Magic Bullet). OohRah! This is the ultimate blending machine, where nutrition is concerned. 

When it comes to getting the most of the whole fruits and vegetables we eat, there are two schools of thought for making it into juice. Overall, it is agreed that breaking down the cell structure of the food extracts and releases more of the nutrients (like antioxidants, vitamins and minerals) making these absorb-able and nutritionally available. The difference is in whether you 'juice' or 'blend'. When you juice, you extract almost all of nutrient-rich juice and leave the pulp behind (the skins, fiber, seed hulls, etc.) If you blend, you completely pulverize the whole food, breaking down the juice, fiber, skins, seeds, etc., into a slushy, whole-food drink of whatever you're blending. I'm definitely a blender, not a juicer.

The concept for blending whole fruits and veggies is simple: fill the NutriBullet cup half way with greens (spinach, collard greens, kale, romaine, etc.) top off with any kind of fruit (could be frozen, to lend a cold, slushy consistency to your drink), add filtered water and blend for about 15-30 seconds. That's all it takes.

For an extra boost, you can add things like chia or flax seeds, almonds, walnuts, maca powder (more on that in a future post) and cacao powder. Any of these will give your drink a nutritional blast of vitamins, antioxidants, healthy fats and more.

At this point we've made numerous morning drinks in the NutriBullet, as well as a great dairy-free chocolate pudding, a rich, spicy chocolate / chia pudding, and an interesting take on vanilla pudding (using chia seeds). It makes an incredible banana 'ice cream' (just blend frozen bananas, scoop and eat - awesome... especially when topped with the chocolate pudding...)


So if you want to get more from your whole fruits and veggies, and get your daily supply of greens in a convenient way, consider blending (or juicing) to give your health a great boost.

By the Way

One of the best things about the NutriBullet is how easy it is to clean up. Because the blender 'pitcher' is actually the drink cup, you just turn the cup upside down to blend (the blades are mounted in a sealable lid) and once blended, turn right-side-up and enjoy. Very cool.

There are other great drink blender options as well, like the NutriNinja... but I'm psyched about my NutriBullet...

Recovery Made Easy

1.80
The holiday week is here, and maybe you're like us, having already shared a pre-Christmas celebration of food and cookies and gifts. It's a wonderfully rich time of year for traditions and family gatherings and, of course, more food than we'd eat in a month...

With all the feasting which is bound to happen the coming week(s), wouldn't it be great to have a simply 'recovery' plan to get back to our power pantry eating routine? I think it would... and I think I've found a good tool and guide. Dr. Joel Fuhrman recently shared an article from his website library calling out the ten best foods for health, and ten worst foods which lead us away from health. This is a simple road map of the way to recovery after holiday indulgences leave us bloated, up several pounds, and feeling guilty.

Check out the article here:
Ten Best and Worst Foods...

It's interesting to note something not on either list: most grains (especially whole grains). While refined white flour is on the Worst list, other good grains like brown rice, quinoa, millet and amaranth are missing as well. That means they're not the best, nor are these the worst - they're somewhere in the middle.

So if you find yourself indulging in too much of a bad thing this holiday season, maybe this list will provide a tool for recovery. Lean hard into the list of healthful, nutrient-dense foods that Dr. Fuhrman calls out on his 'Ten Best' list, and if you stick with it for a month or so, you'll no doubt be back in great shape.

By the Way

I've posted before that I try to be a 90/10 eater when it comes to power pantry choices in my diet. What I mean by that is I attempt to consume 90% of my calories as healthful, nutrient-dense foods, with the other 10% being more convenient, standard American fare. So out of 20 or so meals a week, two of them may be regular old American menu items (even a burger with fries, cheesy lasagna, or pot roast with all the trimmings) while all the rest lean hard into nutrient-dense, plant-based selections. When in 'recovery mode' it's even more important to be an 80/20 or 90/10 eater.

Be Dense

1.74
Hopefully you had a great Thanksgiving, as I did with my wife and family. We are grateful to have shared a delicious butterball turkey with all the trimmings (although our sweet potatoes didn't have the little marshmallows on top...) And I have to say we did fairly good in the nutrient density department, respecting our power pantry choices. We made some great substitutions (like a gluten free stuffing along with regular stuffing) and subtractions (our green beans were sans cream of mushroom soup and fried onions...although they had some crumbled bacon...) The big question is whether our holiday food choices are worthwhile when it comes to nutrient density, that is, how much nutrition is packed in each calorie we choose to eat.


I've posted about nutrient density before. It's a concept popularized by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, one of my favorite nutrition-focused writers and thought leaders. Dr. Fuhrman's formula for health is H = N/C, where H stands for health, N stands for nutrients, and C stands for calories. So our health can be determined by how many nutrients are packed into the calories we consume, our nutrition per calorie. Overall, he refers to this N/C concept as nutrient density.


I had a good nutrient-density conversation with a business friend last week, concerning his health journey and his growing awareness of healthy eating. He is benefiting from nutritional adjustments to help him overcome years of back pain. The great thing is that it's working! Being conscious of the nutrients in the food we choose to eat can make all the difference in the world.

You can review that previous post on nutrient density for some other food-choice ideas, but the point for our holiday food choices is to focus on whole foods over processed foods, and to overwhelm our diet with calories from high-nutrition sources. Yes, there may be holiday cookies and pies, and those little sausages every now and then, but by making some power pantry choices of a big salad, some steamed veggies and brown rice, and desserts focused on berries, fresh fruits and pomegranates, we can lean into high-nutrient choices. The result will be a deep-breath kind of confidence come January, and while we'll have really enjoyed the holidays, we won't be sorry at all for our food choices. Here's to some wonderful Christmas preparations and enjoyment of the season!

By the Way

What we're really after, nutritionally, with our whole food choices are phytochemicals, or phytonutrients. These are the naturally occurring healthful constituents of unrefined plant foods, and it is the basis of nutrient density. For instance, a 100 calorie portion of broccoli has almost twice the protein of a 100 calorie portion of steak. And kale and romaine pack way more nutritional punch per calorie than animal-based foods, grains or even beans and seeds. So stock up on your fresh veggies this holiday season!

Health for the Holidays

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There is something truly wonderful about the holiday season. Fall harvest time melds into the celebration of abundance at Thanksgiving, and that opens the door wide for Christmas gatherings and remembrances of God come to earth. With all the celebrating and blessings it can be difficult to maintain the healthy eating side of our power pantry. I don't think this is a time to put our wellness goals on the shelf with the intent of picking them up in the new year. Instead, it's a great time to keep it simple and put intentional effort into our power pantry lifestyle.

To stay focused it's good to have a guide for some reminders and boundaries. I found a great one this past week from Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of Eat to Live and several other 'must read' books on nutritious eating. Dr. Fuhrman describes himself as a 'nutritarian', not a vegetarian or omnivore or flexitarian, but someone focused on the nutrient density of the foods he chooses to eat. With that in mind, Dr. Fuhrman offers a useful list of things we can eat daily over the holidays to stay grounded in nutrient dense and healthful foods.

Sure there will be turkey and stuffing, and cakes and pies, and maybe even sweet potato casserole with mini marshmallows on top. But indulging a little in those holiday treats and traditional dishes doesn't need to totally derail us. Check out this article from Dr. Fuhrman, which includes the nutritartian list, and think of how you can incorporate some of his guidance in your holiday food choices: The nutritarian diet and checklist

A wellness lifestyle is just that, a lifestyle. If you're becoming more and more of a health-motivated person, keep at it, and incorporate some good meal planning and thinking into your holiday meals. That way you won't need to make a big reset come January, to regain healthy ground you've lost. Instead, you can just keep on track with wellness choices as part of everyday life. 

By the Way

To give an idea of how quickly we can lose ground with holiday eating, check out this post from Coach Up (I saw this referenced in the Sunday paper today...)
"Get Active on Thanksgiving"

The average American Thanksgiving meal encompasses 4,500 calories - yeow. It would take me almost 8 hours of running, or 15 hours of cycling to overcome all those calories.

Raw to the Rescue?

1.60
As you're working on your power pantry, and maybe reading up on better choices you can include, you may come across the raw-food / cooked-food debate. Contention over the right form of food has raged on for decades, and from what I can see, there is still no clear winner. What we can conclude is that including more raw foods in our pantry and diet is better than an overabundance of cooked and processed foods.

Read up on the benefits of a raw diet from experts like Dr. Joel Fuhrman and Dr. Andrew Weil. I appreciate that both of these doctors take a middle of the road approach to food choices and diet advice. The guidance they offer is repeatable and holds value for majority of our population. What we can glean from their perspectives is that there are great benefits to eating a substantial amount of our foods as raw foods, but there is also value in including cooked foods in our diet.

If you're experiencing significant health challenges, you may consider a time of a strict raw diet, like a raw juice fast, as a means of detox. This is a great way to benefit from a supercharge of antioxidants, fiber (if you're blending instead of juicing) micro-nutrients and phyto-nutrients available in raw fruits and vegetables. Big picture, and long-term, cooking of some foods is beneficial because it corrects and improves what may be unhealthy or even poisonous (like carcinogens in most mushrooms which dissipate when cooked).

Check out this article from Dr. Weil about choosing raw over cooked foods, and this one from Dr. Fuhrman. What we can conclude is that consuming more raw foods (fruits and veggies) has great health benefits, and there is also a place for cooking of some foods. If you're really into the raw/cooked debate, read up on Dr. Paul Kouchakoff, M.D., whose research concluded that at least 51% of our diet should consist of raw foods in order for our bodies to digest and metabolize in a healthy way.

Wherever you fall on the raw/cooked food spectrum, try including a substantial amount of raw foods in your choices today. The reality is that we don't get nearly as much raw, unprocessed food as we should, so making the effort eat raw more often is a great addition to a power pantry.

By the Way

I've always appreciated a scripture verse written by Paul, an avid Christ-follower who shared great guidance and wisdom with the early church. In his letter to the Corinthian christians Paul said:
"Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, 'The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it.' " (1 Corinthians 10:25) Of course, Paul was describing the 1st century marketplace, where everything sold was basically local and 'organic'... wise choices which we may do well to follow.

You Are What You Eat

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We are, very simply, what we eat:  this is something I think we all know from childhood, when we don't care a whit about our health and it's more fun vying for that piece of chocolate than thinking about what is nutritious. Times change, and our bodies change, and I know there is an innate niggling voice encouraging us to make a healthy choice, if we'll just listen to it.

Maybe it is middle age which gets us distracted toward healthier choices and listening to our bodies instead of listening to our desires. Maybe it is getting exasperated with the aches and pains of 'aging' where we decide we just can't live like that any longer. However it happens, I think we all come to terms with our food choices as a catalyst for either health or sickness.

I like to glean and forward resources for lifestyle wellness, and as a friend and I were talking the other day, I mentioned a great pair of documentaries that he was not yet aware of. These are based on the belief that we are what we eat, and that food matters. In fact, the title of their initial work is 'Food Matters'. This insightful work is the product of tremendous research and expert perspectives compiled by James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch. Their follow up piece, 'Hungry for Change', is just as valuable.



What you'll learn in these great documentaries are more fundamentals on why whole foods make such a beneficial difference, how our bodies crave nutritional offerings like vitamins and micronutrients, and how conventional, western medicine continues to get this wrong. You'll hear from experts and get valuable encouragement to convince you that, if you're on your own wellness journey, you're not crazy and you're not alone.

Start by having a look at their website: www.foodmatters.tv. You'll find an incredible amount of wellness and nutrition information, all in one place. Materials from recipes to wellness guides to articles, and one of their most significant resources, www.fmtv.com - a clearing house of nutrition and wellness-related videos and documentaries. Take a wellness step today as you work on your power pantry. It's our choice, and today is the best day to begin.

By the Way

You can watch Food Matters and Hungry for Change instantly on Netflix, if you're a subscriber.

Great Greens

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I was visiting with a good friend the other day, and he wanted to show me his raised garden where he and his wife grow kale and spinach. The kale looked wonderful, and they are working on a second crop of spinach, which may even make it into the winter months, or winter-over until spring. They love to pick fresh kale in the mornings for smoothies...what a great idea. The two greens they are growing are fundamental to the short list of most beneficial leafy veggies we could stock in our power pantries.

What is that list of great greens that can be a part of a wellness lifestyle? Which exactly are the best for our salads and to dress up side dishes and sandwiches? Here is a quick list, in no particular order because each of these nutrient-dense greens has unique nutritional value:

• Romaine - great source of calcium, potassium, fiber and vitamin C; one of the most nutritious greens, per calorie (ie, very nutrient dense)
• Spinach - high in iron and calcium and a variety of vitamins
• Kale - a true superfood, kale has vitamins A, C, K, and B6, as well as lots of fiber, calcium, magnesium and antioxidants
• Collard greens - high in calcium, and great source of vitamins K, C & A
• Swiss Chard - good source of vitamins A & C, as well as fiber and iron

Most of these are available at your local grocery store's produce section, and maybe you'll even find more interesting greens to try out. The thing to know about these is that they are each unique. Some are mild and even a bit sweet, some are bitter or strong-tasting. You'll note all kinds of texture differences, and as you look up recipes, you can find a number of these greens are great when cooked. Some, like spinach, are even healthier when cooked.

So here's to trying a new twist on the old head of iceberg lettuce that usually graces our produce drawer in the fridge. We made the switch and now often shop at a farm market with great deals on romaine and fresh spinach, and I love kale for my lunch salads. Give these a try and open up a new world of great greens.

By the Way

You may want to seek out and try a few other unique greens like arugula, dandelion (yes the leaves of the much maligned yellow-flowered weed... ), turnip greens, bok choy, mustard greens, red and green leaf lettuce, and more. For some great reading on greens, simple google "healthiest greens" and read the first 5 or 6 articles that show up.

Super Seeds

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Some tremendous whole foods are small, unassuming, and right under our noses. I think that's the case with seeds. Most of them don't get a lot of play in popular culture, and cooking with seeds just isn't widely accepted or practiced. But seeds hold all kinds of promise for adding some healthy nutrition to our menus and snacks.

Let's look at a few great seeds:

• Sunflower - great source of vitamin E and magnesium, folate and zinc, as well as fiber and antioxidants
• Sesame - high in manganese and copper; also iron, magnesium, calcium, vitamin B1, and a great source of fiber; also high in linoleic acid, and omega-6 fatty acid; ground sesame seeds (tahini) also makes a good spread and addition to hummus
• Pumpkin - (pepita) rich in protein and vitamin B-complex (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothentic acid, vitamin B-6 and folates), and a good source of selenium
• Flax - great source of dietary fiber, Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA), and lignans
• Chia - (the ancient Aztec warrior seed) one of the top 10 superfoods, chia is a tremendous source of protein, calcium, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, magnesium, vitamin C and more. Chia also has a unique quality that it yields a gel-like consistency when added to water, so it can be good as a thickener or for improvised jams and puddings

What's great about seeds is that they can be added to numerous dishes to add texture, flavor, and obviously a boost of nutrition, and cooking with seeds is simple. I like adding seeds to my morning muesli (a hearty start to the day), or they can be included in salads, as a topping on vegetable side dishes, or as a nutritious addition to snacks.

A key to getting all the nutritional benefit from seeds is to eat them raw. Toasting and roasting of seeds depletes and even removes many of their mineral and antioxidant qualities. Added seasonings (salt especially) can also give seeds a bad rap nutritionally (the seeds are great, but when combined with poor seasoning choices, they become a not-so-healthy addition to our menu.) So give seeds a try - find a new recipe or just improvise by adding some beneficial seeds to a favorite dish or two. You'll be glad you did.

By the Way

There are still other interesting seeds you can research and use in recipes, like hemp, pomegranate, and grape seeds. All these have particular protein, fiber and mineral benefits, and can be valuable in cooking. What's fun is to experiment with new recipes and try out the unique tastes and textures added by seeds. Happy cooking!

A Simple Alternative

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I was talking with a friend the other day and he shared about a family member with a gluten sensitivity. While they are relieved to have a solution for the health and gut issues this family member was suffering, they're still getting used to the lifestyle changes needed to deal with a food intolerance.

We went on to talk about the top six food sensitivities (I told him I had a post about these, describing dairy, wheat, corn, soy, peanuts and eggs as culprits, in that order.) He was aghast. He couldn't believe that these more-than-common foods were the source of health issues for millions of people. I explained that they aren't allergies (acute issues) but intolerances (chronic issues... they manifest slowly and in an irritating way.) His biggest question was, what do you eat if you're cutting out these six common foods, as you would for a time in an elimination diet?

I think the answer is simple, and I described six essential food categories which can help us all eat 'clean'. There are plenty of nutrient-dense foods which our bodies crave, are readily available, and great for our health. I've mentioned numerous time in Power Pantry posts that I'm a fan of Dr. Joel Fuhrman, an MD from New Jersey focused on nutritional excellence.

Dr. Fuhrman has published a short-list of the most healthful foods - basically the top of the list for eating clean. He describes these in short as "G-BOMBS", which stands for greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds. These six foods work magic for our metabolism, provide essential amino acids, enzymes, micronutrients and phytonutrients. Dr. Fuhrman promotes them as so important, we should be eating these every day and they should be a significant portion of our regular diet. Here are the categories in brief:

• Greens - as in leafy greens: kale, spinach, romaine; the darker the better. (Sorry, iceberg lettuce doesn't count as greens... they're 'pale greens' or even 'whites' at best). 
• Beans - as in legumes: lentils, chickpeas, pintos, black beans, navy beans, peas etc. These are high in protein and soluable fiber, which are great anti-diabetes foods and good for weight loss
• Onions - and other members of the allium family like garlic, scallions, leeks, shallots. All of these are great for blood flow and heart health, and have documented anti-cancer properties
• Mushrooms - these have great anti-cancer benefits, are anti-inflamatory and stimulate our immune systems; note, mushrooms should only be eaten cooked, as several types of raw culinary mushrooms contain carcinogens which dissipate when cooked.
• Berries - these are gems of antioxidants, healthy calories and vitamins. Blueberries, black berries, strawberries are all true super foods. Note: the darker the better; darker color indicates higher levels of good antioxidants. And you can buy affordable, frozen berries year-round in the freezer case of your favorite grocery store.
• Seeds (and nuts) - as in flax, chia, hemp, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, walnuts, almonds, etc. These are high in protein, good fats, minerals and fiber. There is greater benefit to raw seeds and nuts than roasted, so shop for raw whenever possible.

This is a great list, and will yield fulfilling and tasty, healthful meals. I see G-BOMBS as an essential, fundamental fall-back position for our power pantry. When in doubts, reset to these six simple, healthful foods. Of course there will be healthy whole grains (brown rice, oats, quinoa) lean meats (poultry and fish), sauces and salsas and healthful condiments, and some low-fat dairy (like greek yogurt) to round out meals, but G-BOMBS provide an essential foundation for a healthful, non-irritating power pantry diet.

By the Way

You can check out Dr. Fuhrman's descriptions of G-BOMBS here:
      Dr. Fuhrman's G-BOMBS article
I love that he annotates all of his writings and research. Have any doubts in what he's saying? Then look it up - he's not shy about taking a confident, definitive approach to his wise counsel. 

Food is Medicine

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There is a saying attributed to Hippocrates from almost 2,500 years ago, "Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food." Even in ancient times (or maybe especially in ancient times) nutritional excellence was recognized as vital for good health. In our western / American culture, we've slid very far from any semblance of nutritional excellence. The good news is how easy it is to return to it.

There is mounting evidence of how right Hippocrates was, and how beneficial a whole food, plant-based diet is to our health. Consider The China Study, where Dr. T. Colin Campbell did exhaustive research of over 50 diseases in the US and compared the results on our population to that of rural China. The point was that there are vast regions of China where a very homogeneous, healthful diet was consumed by incredibly large populations. By studying heart disease, diabetes, cancers, etc., and comparing these to the diet they were eating, you could draw valuable conclusions about how eating habits affected health.



Their biggest conclusion was that western diseases (coronary artery disease, diabetes, and numerous cancers) were directly related to the levels of animal-derived cholesterol in the blood stream. The good news was that a plant-based diet would reduce and even reverse the damage done by a high-cholesterol diet. Nutritional excellence is beneficial for lowering cholesterol and providing vital micronutrients, providing healthful results across the board, not just for a specific ailment.

Check out the overview of The China Study here (from Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study 

The conclusion of The China Study, according to cardiologist Dr. Mimi Guarneri, founder of the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine: food is related to positive and negative health outcomes; what we eat matters! 

It is fascinating to me how our bodies willingly and obediently go along with whatever foods we eat, and do their best to assimilate that food (whether nutritious or not) and keep going. The slow decay we see in our physical health as a society is directly related to the fact that we don't see the cause and effect of our eating habits. There is enough delay between eating an un-nutritious food and the ailments it may cause, that we don't draw any correlation, and go on literally eating ourselves to death. The great news is that at any time we can begin to live as if our food is medicine, and the medicine we need is in our food, and bring our bodies back to functional health and eventually optimal health.

By the Way

There is an ancient Indian precept which clearly frames the issue of our food functioning as medicine:
"When diet is wrong medicine is of no use.
When diet is correct, medicine is of no need."

A bold statement, but that says it all.

Want something else to chew on? Check out the documentary, "Forks Over Knives" featuring Dr. Campbell and his research.