30 Minute Easy Black Bean Soup

I LOVE making soup! This soup is easy, and quick. For more flavor development, you can cook it for longer time. I like to garnish it with cashew sour cream, avocado and green onion. YUM. Black beans are such a versatile bean. I use them in desserts, dips and so on...They give you a healthy punch of fiber and protein. ENJOY! KALI OREXI! Which means happy eating in Greek :) 

Easy Black Bean Soup

·       3 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed

·       3 celery ribs with leaves, chopped

·       2 large carrots chopped 

·       1 large onion, chopped

·       1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

·       1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

·       2 tablespoons olive oil

·       1 Tbsp Tomato paste

·       4 garlic cloves, minced

·       2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) vegetable broth

·       1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with juices

·       1 Tbsp ground cumin

·       1-1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

·       1/4 teaspoon pepper

·       1 bay leaf

·       1 teaspoon lime juice

·       1/4 cup chopped green onions for garnish

1) In a large saucepan, saute the celery, onion, carrots, red pepper and jalapeno in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.

2) Mix tomato paste with 3 Tbsp of water and incorporate into saucepan. Cook for one minute.

3) Stir in the broth, tomatoes, cumin, coriander, hot sauce, pepper, bay leaf, black beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

4) After 20 minutes, take an immersion blender or potato masher and mash some of the black beans up. You want about 50% of them mashed and the other 50% to half structure still.

5) Discard bay leaf. Stir in lime juice. Garnish each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream (I like to use lime cashew sour cream-recipe to come) and 1-1/2 teaspoons green onion.

Poor Unhappy Liver

 

Would you believe if I told you, the next global epidemic is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)??

● NAFLD affects up to 30% of people in the United States.

● 1 in 3 adults.

● Affects 70 Million adults.

I will get into detail of NAFLD in just a minute.

First. Let’s talk about the liver…

The liver is the second largest organ in your body and is located under your rib cage on the right side. It weighs just under 3 pounds!

The liver performs many jobs in your body. It detoxifies the blood to rid it of harmful substances such as alcohol and drugs. It stores the sugar-glucose. It processes what you eat and drink into energy and nutrients your body can use. Sounds important right??

What is NAFLD? Fatty deposits in the liver result in a disease spectrum from simple steatosis with NO symptoms through to NASH>>Fibrosis>>>Cirrhosis, which can result in liver failure.

Basically NAFLD is an accumulation of fat in the hepatocytes or liver cells in excessive amounts.

The fats are typically triglycerides that the body naturally stores and creates from calories that it doesn’t need right away. A person who is active and eats healthy will normally burn these fats off for energy.

However, if the body is overwhelmed with excessive calories and lack of physical activity-They accumulate in the liver. The liver then becomes UNHAPPY L.

Good new? Exercise and nutritional improvements can fend off and reverse NAFLD.

Bad news: It is largely asymptomatic before it begins causing problems.

WHO IS AT RISK FOR FATTY LIVER DISEASE?? NAFLD tends to develop in people who are overweight or obese or have diabetes, high cholesterol or high triglycerides. Rapid weight loss and poor eating habits also may lead to NAFLD.

Fight Disease with Plant Based Eating

“Studies indicate that vegetarians often have lower morbidity and mortality rates…Scientific data suggest positive relationships between a vegetarian diet and reduced risk for…obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and some types of cancer.”

- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Position Paper on Vegetarian Diets

 

                  

Hello everyone!!!! Sick and tired of feeling sick and tired? Read on…

Diet can have a powerful impact on many aspects of our health. I believe there is a growing trend toward understanding the health benefits of eating whole plants instead of animal and processed foods. In-fact, over the past year I have taken it into my hands to get off blood pressure medication and try to heal my body through whole, plant based foods. 

I am now off blood pressure medication.  Eating a plant based diet and feeling better than ever.

Listen here!! A significant convergence of evidence suggests that plant-based diets can help prevent and even reverse some of the top killer diseases in the Western world and can be more effective than medication and surgery.

 What is Plant Based Nutrition? Plant based nutrition is exactly what it sounds like. Meals and snacks are focused around plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes rather than animal products such as meat, dairy items, or eggs.

I believe that now; Smoking in 1956 is like eating in 2016.

 The understanding that nutrition plays a critical role in health and wellness isn’t new!

For thousands of years, plants and plant foods have been used to treat and prevent illness and disease.

You can be very strict and go Vegan-which is NO animal products. I have not been able to go to that side yet, however I am proud to call myself a “Flexitarian”.   I base all my meals around fruits and veggies but I still eat animal products occasionally.

 Polls are done periodically and show that plant-based eating and interest in vegetarianism are growing. Recent results from 2016 show Vegans/Vegetarians are now up to 16 million in US.

 There are thousands of studies out there showing the connection of plant based eating and chronic diseases.  

*One Swedish study found that women who ate more than 3.6 ounces of meat each day were 42% more likely to have a stroke than those who ate less than 1 ounce.

*A plant-based meal plan appears to decrease cancer risk perhaps due to the healthy fiber, vitamins, and minerals that it includes, or perhaps because of the harmful substances in red and processed meats that it eliminates.

*Overall, studies showed significant reductions in cancer risk among those who avoided meat. Harvard studies showed that daily meat eaters have approximately three times the colon cancer risk, compared to those who rarely eat meat.

Bottom line: EAT MORE VEGGIES.

 

      

Lentils. Good for your heart, good for pregnancy and good for digestion.

Eat your lentils this winter!!

 

Good for your heart.

Good for digestion.

Good for pregnancy.

Good for you…

 

I love lentils! They are easy and fast to cook and can be used in several different dishes.  Lentils are legumes. They are considered a starch since they are mostly carbohydrates and protein based foods with very little fat. Lentils can be found in various shades of red, orange, golden, brown, and even black.

In regards to nutritional quality, these legumes are a superior food. In addition to being composed of about 26% protein, lentils are a great source of fiber, magnesium and folate. 1 Cup cooked lentils provides 90% of the DRI for folate and 50% DRI for Magnesium. Eat up!!

Cranberry Craze!!!

Cranberry Creations!

It’s that time of year guys! Its cranberry season and I must say, I am very thankful for this wonderful fruit. Did you know cranberries are one of three fruit that are native to North America?

As a New Jersey resident I am proud to say, NJ is currently the 3^rd largest cranberry producing area in the US following Massachusetts and Wisconsin.

The majority of cranberry harvest in New Jersey takes place in October. If you have never been to a harvest-it is definitely worth checking out!!

Now let’s discuss why cranberries are so nutritious. Cranberries contain nature’s most powerful antioxidant, proanthocyanidins Type A (PACs). This compound has antioxidant and anti-adhesion properties which have been shown to help fight certain harmful bacterial in the body including the cardiovascular system and for many parts of the digestive tract (including the mouth and gums, stomach, and colon).

Many people associate cranberries with urinary tract infection prevention. Cranberries contain more antioxidants than many commonly consumed fruit.

A review of several different research articles showed that cranberries and cranberry supplements benefit in reducing and preventing UTI’s is inconclusive. This doesn’t mean they are not beneficial-only that more research needs to be done to come to a stronger conclusion of cranberries and their protective effects on urinary tract infections.  Cranberries are definitely good in preventing bacterial buildup in your tract however it may not be as helpful once the infection has already started. 

Cranberries have 35 calories per half cup, they are a good source of fiber and manganese, vitamin C and Vitamin E.

The bottom line? Cranberries in their whole form will provide you with wonderful vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Consuming cranberries in their whole form cannot really hurt you so go ahead and enjoy your cranberries this season. If you are looking to consume cranberry daily for prevention and prophylaxis I would suggest either taking 300-400mg of cranberry extract daily or drinking at least one 8 oz. serving of cranberry juice (concentrated organic kind) daily.

Some recipes to try out over the holiday season. ENJOY!!

 

Cranberry Bruschetta

1 bag of fresh or frozen cranberries

¹⁄₄ cup sugar

¹⁄₄ cup red wine vinegar

¹⁄₂ red onion, thinly sliced into rings

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 loaf French bread and Olive oil for brushing bread

DIRECTIONS

1)    Combine Cranberries, sugar, red wine in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add onion and garlic and simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries pop.

2)    Pout into glass bowl. Add basil and oregano and then cool to room temperature.

3)    Cut bread into ½ inch slices. Brush bread on both sides with olive oil. Broil for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Top with cranberry mixture.

Cranberry Raisin Apple Crisp

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

½ cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

5 tablespoon cold butter cut into pieces

12 ounce pack cranberries

2 large Golden delicious apples (cut into ½ inch pieces)

½ cup raisins

¾ cups sugar

Orange peel to taste

Juice from one fresh orange and Cinnamon to taste!!

DIRECTIONS

1)    Heat oven to 375. In medium bowl, combine oats, flour and sugar. Add butter in mixture until forms a crumble like consistency.

2)    In another bowl, combine, cranberries, apples, raisins, sugar, flour, orange juice and zest and cinnamon. Transfer this mixture into a soufflé dish.

3)    Top the fruit with the butter crumble mixture and bake for about 45 minutes or until top is browned just a tad.

 

 

Fruit and Veggie wheel

 

Are you missing any colors from your diet? What fruits or vegetables could you eat to complete your healthy rainbow??

Blood Pressure and Dementia... Enough said...

BLOOD PRESSURE ARTICLE REVIEW:

Keeping blood pressure within normal ranges may help,

"Prevent dementia and may even benefit patients who are losing their mental abilities.”

If you don’t already know, I am completely obsessed with my blood pressure. I got diagnosed with high blood pressure a few months back and having been successfully weaning myself off my blood pressure medication with my own personalized therapeutic nutrition and herbal regime. Of note, I check my blood pressure every day (once in the AM and once in the evening).

A new study came out which showed that fluctuations in blood pressure may be linked to faster declines in thinking skills among seniors. This report was published in the Journal of Hypertension online on May 23^rd.

My specialty is seniors so I was immediately drawn to this study. Dementia in the senior population is not uncommon. However, as the years go by, more and more research is coming out showing and proving to us that dementia is more preventable and treatable than we think.

According to Qin, this study cannot prove that fluctuations in blood pressure cause declines in mental ability, but it adds to mounting evidence that these changes in blood pressure may have health consequences.

"Higher long-term variability in blood pressure readings predicted faster declines of mental function among older adults," Qin said. "Controlling blood pressure instability may be a potential strategy in preserving mental function among older adults," she suggested.

Researchers found that among older patients, those whose systolic blood pressure -- the top number in a blood pressure reading -- varied between doctor's visits showed more rapid mental deterioration and loss of verbal memory than those whose blood pressure stayed within normal range.  Yes folks (Dad)…  Keep your pressure under control!!

For the study, Qin and colleagues collected data on nearly 1,000 adults aged 55 and older who took part in the China Health and Nutrition Survey over five years.

Blood pressure was calculated from three or four visits to health professionals. Participants also completed a series of mental quizzes, such as word recall and counting backwards.

But high blood pressure and low blood pressure may both be damaging to the brain, she added. The goal is to try to achieve a stable blood pressure rather than have huge variations. Bottom line is you want stable, solid numbers. And Consistency is key!