How To Properly Wash Fruits And Vegetables To Remove The Harmful Chemicals

With using a few simple tips, you can protect yourself and your family from the raw food poisoning. Before the washing of the fruits and vegetables, you need to clean the work area and the cutting boards and then you need to wash your hands good with soap and warm water.

If the equipment is not clean, bacteria from the surface of the raw foods could come in contact with them during cutting and peeling.

If you want your fruits and vegetables to be healthy for eating you need to wash them good and remove the bacteria and chemicals which are found on the surface, and rinsing it with water is often not enough.

The green leafy vegetables need to be separated and kept submerged in water for several minutes. Then the leaves need to drain and the procedure must be repeated. The water will be enough for vegetables with organic origin, but if you are not sure of the way of the cultivation, wash it with vinegar.

Mix two cups of water with half a cup of distilled white vinegar and soak the leaves of the vegetable in this mixture for 5 minutes and then rinse with clean water.

Dry with a clean kitchen towel. In this way the presence of bacteria is reduced, but not removed and the vinegar may partly affect the texture and taste of the food.

Vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower need to be kept in cold water for a minute before washing it with water or the combination of vinegar and water. Vegetables and fruits with thick skins, as tomatoes and mangos, need to be cleaned with a brush which is exclusively designed for raw foods before the washing.

You need to wash the fruits even if you do not eat the peel, like watermelon and melon, so the bacteria from the surface are not exposed on the area during the cutting. Most of the bacteria will retain on the remains on that area with which some foods may be covered.

In this case at first it is necessary to rinse the foods under running water and wipe them nicely and then prepare them for eating. Besides the vinegar, the combination of salt and lemon juice acts against pesticides and bacteria.

Fill a bowl with water and add a teaspoon of salt and juice from one lemon. Put green fruits or vegetables in this mixture and let them stay like that for 10 to 15 minutes.

Then rinse with water, dry and serve. If you do not want to wash foods with anything other than clean water, then soak them in water during the night and in the morning rinse them with lukewarm water.

Do not wash fruits and vegetables right after you buy them because in this way they will spoil faster. You can wash the food before use in the following ways.

The spray for the chemical removal has to act for at least ten minutes

Vegetables and fruits can be washed with the help of the spray which is simple to prepare. Buy a bottle with aerosols and wash it.

Add a tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, two tablespoons of vinegar and 250 ml of water in it. Close it strongly and tightly then shake so you can mix the ingredients.

Spray the fruits and vegetables before use, leave it for ten minutes and then rinse them under running cold water. Wipe with a clean towel before peeling and cutting. After rinsing, the taste and smell of vinegar will not be felt.

The cabbage, eggplant, cauliflower and pineapple are the least treated foods

The intake of fruit and vegetables treated with pesticides can be reduced by buying organically produced food but this is financially impossible for many people.

If you can not buy organic foods, choose the ones which are treated with pesticides. In this group are cabbage, garlic, asparagus, tomato azure, quiver, cauliflower, mango, kiwi, avocado, pineapple and oranges.

However, in citrus fruit you need to pay more attention and the use of their skin is not recommended, for example in the preparation of cakes.

http://womansvibe.com/how-to-properly-wash-fruits-and-vegetables-to-remove-the-harmful-chemicals/

The Simplest Way To Get Kids To Eat More Vegetables

By Emi Boscamp



You probably remember, as a kid, pushing anything green to the edges of your plate, hoping no one would notice. You had already eaten the delicious slab of protein that had been in the center of your plate. You weren't hungry anymore. You wanted to go play.
Well, what if you had just been a little hungrier?
That's the question researchers at Brigham Young University set out to answer. They found that kids just aren't hungry enough at lunchtime to eat their vegetables. The solution? Simple. Have recess before lunch, not after.
The researchers found that when recess takes place before kids sit down to eat, fruit and vegetable consumption increases significantly.
The study, published in Preventative Medicine, looked at 2,500 students in seven Utah elementary schools who participated in the National School Lunch Program, which serves lunches that must include a serving of vegetables. Three schools switched their schedules to hold recess before lunch, while the other four schools kept recess after lunch. Researchers stood by the garbage cans and measured how many kids threw away their fruits and vegetables.
They found that the simple schedule swap boosted produce consumption by 54% per kid. Yes, that much. Not only that — 45% more kids ended up eating a serving of fruits and vegetables, which reduced waste by 40%. And as for the schools that didn't switch, produce consumption actually decreased during the same time period.
"Recess is a pretty big deal for most kids. If you have kids choose between playing and eating their veggies, the time spent playing is going to win most of the time," said Joe Price, co-author of the study, in a press release.
When kids don't get a full, balanced meal, they can feel hungry later in the day, which leads to poorer academic performance and excessive snacking when they get home, the authors write. And this behavior can have adverse health effects in the long term.
The researchers' proposed schedule switch is a win-win situation for elementary schools and their students. It won't cost them anything — in fact, they'll save money by reducing waste — and the kids will be healthier.
It seems like a no-brainer. A minor, rather inconsequential change to the schedule that could drastically change children's lives. Hopefully news will travel quickly and school districts will take action. We'll just have to wait and see.
Photo Credit: Stocksy
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-17057/the-simplest-way-to-get-kids-to-eat-more-vegetables.html

3 Veggie Smoothies Your Kids Will Love — Yes, Really

BY ELIZABETH STARK

Do your kids eat enough vegetables? If you answered yes, by all means, go plop a couple scoops of ice cream or beet sorbet into a bowl and pat yourself on the back. You’ve done some great work! Truly. For the other 96 percent of us, there are smoothies. Of course, a call for spinach smoothies might not get your littles galloping to the kitchen, but with a few fun and fruity twists, healthy vegetable-based smoothies can be a painless, and even a delicious, part of your day.

The secret to great veggie smoothies is balance — sweet, somewhat mild vegetables like carrots, beets, or spinach are balanced by a range of fruits like bananas, blueberries, pears, and oranges. For each of these veggie wonders, I played with texture and sweetness to achieve a balanced, absolutely kid-friendly sip. And, to be completely sure these smoothies would go over well with kids, I enlisted my 7- and 3-year-old daughters as test subjects. Head below for all three kid-approved smoothie recipes!

A few notes on making vegetable smoothies at home: A powerful blender shouldn’t have any trouble blending vegetables to prime smoothie form, but if you’ve got a more modest blender, do a little experimentation. Start by chopping the vegetables into little bits and consider grating the tougher vegetables like carrots and beets for seamless blending. It’s also worth noting that frosty smoothies are the most delicious, so start a few days ahead by stockpiling frozen, peeled bananas in the freezer. Freeze bananas flat on a parchment-lined surface, then bag frozen bananas and store until needed.

3 Kid-Approved Veggie Smoothies:

Carrot Orange Smoothies

Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings

Ingredients:
1 cup peeled, chopped carrots
1 orange, peeled and chopped
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 cup ice
1 cup orange juice

Directions:
Layer the ice, banana chunks, orange segments, and carrots in the blender, add the orange juice, and blend until smooth.

Beet Berry Smoothies

Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings

Ingredients:
1 cup peeled, chopped beets
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 cup ice
1 cup orange juice

Directions:
Layer ice, banana chunks, blueberries, and beets in blender, add orange juice, and blend until smooth.

Spinach Avocado Smoothies

Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes: 32 ounces, or 4 8-ounce servings

Ingredients:
1 packed cup spinach leaves
1 avocado, chopped
1 large Bartlett pear, sliced
1 frozen banana, chopped
1 1/4 cup ice
1 1/4 cup orange juice

Directions:
Layer ice, banana chunks, avocado, pear slices, and spinach in blender, add orange juice, and blend until smooth.

http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/kid-approved-veggie-smoothies-3-fresh-takes/

Indoor vegetable farm produces nutrient-dense produce 250 percent faster than outdoor farms, with less waste

The future of food production could end up doing away with the growing fields and even the sun. A Japanese plant physiologist has developed an indoor growing system that he says produces lettuce 250 percent faster than traditional farms, requires far less water and generates significantly less produce waste.

Using LED technology developed by the GE corporation, Shigeharu Shimamura was able to create a 25,000 square foot indoor space that currently houses 18 cultivation racks for growing lettuce. These racks are 15 stories high and contain a total of 17,500 LED lights specially designed for the optimal growing of lettuce.

The proprietary lighting system mimics the day and night cycle of the real outdoors, but at a highly accelerated pace. Together with carefully controlled climate and moisture conditions, Shimamura and GE were able to fine-tune a complex system that generates large amounts of healthy food very quickly, without producing significant amounts of waste.

"I knew how to grow good vegetables biologically and I wanted to integrate that knowledge with hardware to make things happen," he explained to GE Reports.

Indoor produce farm generating 10,000 heads of lettuce daily

Having gotten the idea from a "vegetable factory" that was featured at the Expo '85 world's fair in Tsukuba when he was just a teenager, Shimamura had ever since been inspired to start his own indoor growing facility. And after the Fukushima disaster of 2011, he finally got his chance.

According to GE Reports, Shimamura was able to turn a former Sony Corporation semiconductor factory in eastern Japan's Miyagi Prefecture, which was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami, into the world's largest indoor growing farm. And today, this farm produces an astounding 10,000 heads of lettuce daily, with an average loss of only 10 percent of the harvest.

A typical outdoor produce farm, on the other hand, loses up to 50 percent of its harvest, representing a 400 percent reduction in waste. Beyond this, the specialized temperature and humidity conditions inside the farm require just 1 percent of the total amount of water typically required for outdoor growing operations.

All these tweaks have created ideal growing conditions that Shimamura says have resulted in a 100-fold increase in productivity. This means 100 times more food can be grown in the relatively small indoor space he created compared to outdoor grow operations, which are still threatened by residual radiation contamination.

"What we need to do is not just [set] up more days and nights," he stated. "We want to achieve the best combination of photosynthesis during the day and breathing at night by controlling the lighting and the environment."

Are indoor produce 'farms' the future of food for planet Earth?

For GE Japan, the technology offers hope for humanity moving into the future. The drastic improvements in yield and productivity offered by Shimamura's concept stand to address the world's growing food shortage problems, particularly in the face of drought and other similar challenges.

Since its LED technology is working so well at maximizing the growth rate of lettuce, this due to its ability to produce light at wavelengths ideal for plant growth, GE Japan is already working on similar growing facilities both in Hong Kong and the Far East of Russia. Together, the duo hopes to bring real change to those in need.

"Finally, we are about to start the real agricultural industrialization," said Shimamura with confidence.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.gereports.com

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

http://www.independent.co.uk

http://www.naturalnews.com/046018_indoor_vegetable_farms_nutrient-dense_food_waste_reduction.html#ixzz3M8vL3ySH

The 6 Most Common Mistakes When Roasting Vegetables

WRITTEN BY DANIELLE WALSH

Roasting vegetables seems easy enough, right? Just chop ‘em up, toss ‘em in some kind of fat, put ‘em on a sheet pan, and throw them in the oven.

Basically, yes—but there are some specific things you should keep in mind to get crispy-yet-tender veggies. We asked senior associate editor Alison Roman to enumerate the most common mistakes people make when throwing their winter vegetables in the oven—and to explain how to avoid them.

1. Cut Your Veggies Any Which Way
“Cut your veggies the same size so they’ll evenly cook,” Roman advises. When roasting starchy vegetables like potatoes or squash, dicing them into 1 1/2″–2″ pieces will make sure they don’t cook too quickly or too slowly (more on that later). But when possible, Roman likes to roast smaller vegetables whole. “Carrots are so pretty when roasted whole,” she says. “And stalks of broccoli are great just split lengthwise when they’re roasted.”

2. Grease ‘Em All Up the Same
When you’re finished cutting them, make sure to give your veggies a coat of oil—but don’t assume they all need the same amount. “Vegetables with porous flesh, like mushrooms and eggplant, need a little more oil than, say, root vegetables,” Roman says. As a rule, she likes to use two tablespoons of olive oil per sheet pan of veggies, but add a bit more if you’re including something that sucks up moisture. Just don’t use too much—you don’t want your vegetables to turn out greasy. “Your vegetables should be a just little shiny, and evenly coated,” she says. And, of course: Season, season, season.

3. Use Any Old Oven-Safe Thingamabob
Although you can use a baking dish to roast your veggies, Roman suggests that a sheet pan is your best bet. “Vegetables have a high water content,” she explains. “When they cook and that water evaporates, the higher, curved sides of a baking dish will cause your vegetables to steam more than if they were on a flat surface with shallow sides.” Basically, your veggies might come out a bit mushier than you intended if you use a baking dish. Do this at your own risk.

Spicy Honey-Glazed Parsnips

4. Crowd Your Pan
“Give your vegetables space!” Roman pleads. It’s the same deal as above: Your vegetables will give off steam while they cook, and they’ll turn out mushier if they’re all up in each other’s grills. Make sure there’s a little space between each piece, and they’ll brown and crisp up a lot better.

5. Low and Slow
It’s not a braise, y’all! “I roast my vegetables on a higher temperature, like 400–450 degrees,” Roman says. “That way, you get a nice caramelized and crispy outside, and a just-cooked-through inside.” But don’t go much lower than that. “If you roast them on too low a temperature, they won’t brown as nicely and get mushier.” If you’re into that kinda thing, go for it—but we’ll take crisp-caramelized veggies, thank you very much.

6. Leave Them Alone
To ensure even cooking and browning, you’ve gotta give your vegetables a nice toss while it’s in the oven. “You don’t want one side of your vegetables to be super dark, and the other sides to have no color,” Roman says. You should be roasting your vegetables for 35-45 minutes; give them one or two stirs throughout.http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/common-mistakes/article/how-to-roast-vegetables

What Separates A Healthy And Unhealthy Diet? Just $1.50 Per Day

A Safeway customer browses in the fruit and vegetable section at Safeway

 in Livermore, Calif.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

If you want to eat a more healthful diet, you're going to have to shell out more cash, right? (After all, Whole Foods didn't get the nickname "Whole Paycheck" for nothing.)

But until recently, that widely held bit of conventional wisdom hadn't really been assessed 

in a rigorous, systematic way, says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health.

So he and his colleagues decided to pore over 27 studies from 10 different developed countries that looked at the retail prices of food grouped by healthfulness. Across these countries, it turns out, the cost difference between eating a healthful and unhealthful diet 

was pretty much the same: about $1.50 per day. And that price gap held true when they focused their research just on U.S. food prices, the researchers found in their meta-analysis of these studies.

"I think $1.50 a day is probably much less than some people expected," Mozaffarian tells The Salt, "but it's also a real barrier for some low-income families," for whom it would translate to about an extra $550 a year.

Still, from a policy perspective, he argues, $1.50 a day is chump change. "That's the cost of a cup of coffee," he says. "It's trivial compared to the cost of heart disease or diabetes, which is hundreds of billions of dollars" — both in terms of health care costs and lost productivity.

The Salt

How To Make Healthy Eating Easier On The Wallet? Change The Calculation

"And so that relatively small difference," he says, "should really be an incentive for policymakers" to find ways to help low-income families bridge that extra $1.50 per day.

The researchers evaluated the cost of food by types of eating pattern — for example, a diet heavy on vegetables, nuts and fruits, like the Mediterranean diet, versus one rich in processed foods and meat. They also looked at price differences within specific food categories, such as grains, proteins, fats and dairy. The biggest price differences arose when it came to proteins/meats: Healthier, leaner cuts, they found, were on average about 29 cents more per serving. Only one of the studies included in the meta-analysis examined the cost of restaurant foods stratified by healthfulness — and that's definitely an area, the authors say, where more research is needed.

The research, published this week in the British Medical Journal Open, comes as House and Senate negotiators on Capitol Hill are debating a new farm bill — including billions of dollars in cuts to the federal food-assistance program formerly known as food stamps. It's now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

"This study couldn't come at a more relevant time," says Josh Wachs, chief strategy officer for Share Our Strength.

His group teaches low-income families who rely on food-assistance programs like SNAP how to navigate the supermarket to make better choices on a tight budget — tips like buying frozen and canned fruits and vegetables when fresh is too expensive, or teaching them how to cut up a whole chicken, which costs less than buying individual breasts, wings and other parts separately. Another key tip: When comparing two items, focus on the price per unit rather than the total price.

"We believe that education can help put healthy food in reach for many more families," Wachs tells The Salt. But subsidies for such education programs provided through SNAP could also be imperiled if the program's funding is cut, he says.

And even for those of us who aren't working under supertight budget constraints at the grocery store, the results of the meta-analysis are eye-opening, says Mozaffarian.

"Just as an excuse to not eat healthy," he says, "for most Americans, I think price is not an excuse."

Foods that help lower blood pressure

The foods below all contain high levels of potassium.

Potassium is one of four essential electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium) used in the body. Potassium helps to lower high blood pressure by counteracting the negative effect of sodium. Too much sodium makes your body hold onto excess fluid which leads to an increase in blood volume which in turn increases blood pressure. Potassium helps your kidneys expel sodium and excess fluid from the body which lowers blood pressure due to the reduction in fluid volume.

Note: University of Pennsylvania researchers discovered that just 10 days of potassium restriction in the diet increased blood pressure for both people with normal and raised blood pressure.

Most people eat way too much (salt is comprised of 40% sodium and 60% chloride) and not enough potassium so you have a double negative. The goal here is to increase consumption of potassium rich foods to counteract the negative effect of salt. However to get the maximum benefit from this it is also recommended to cut back on the salt as well.

Note: Both the American Heart Association and the Blood Pressure Association in the UK recommend eating a diet high in potassium to help lower high blood pressure. Additionally most national health authorities now recommend increasing potassium consumption via diet along with reducing sodium intake.

Below are some of the main high potassium fruit and vegetables. Fruit and vegetables contain the highest amount of potassium of any food type. The only other notable source of potassium is dairy products. Dairy also has the benefit of being high in calcium and should be included daily in your diet, but be sure to choose low fat dairy options.

High potassium vegetables

Artichoke
Baked beans (can be high in salt!)
Butternut squash
Beetroot
All beans and peas
Cabbage
Cucumber
Carrots
Brussels sprouts
Lentils
Mushrooms
Potatoes
Parsnips
Spinach
Tomatoes
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Sweet Potato
Celery
Kale

High potassium fruits/nuts/seeds

Apple
Avocado
Bananas
Dried dates
Dried apricots
Figs
Kiwi fruit
Mango
Orange and orange juice
Papaya
Strawberries
Watermelon
Raisins
Prunes and prune juice
Pear
Nectarines
Grapefruit
Pomegranate
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Peanuts
Brazil nuts
Almonds

To help lower blood pressure try to eat 5 portions of the high potassium fruit and vegetables a day (a simple guide to portion size is a portion is roughly the size of your closed fist).

The way I managed to up my potassium rich food was by including the vegetables in main meals and snacking on the fruit, nuts and seeds when hungry in between meals. I also found dried fruit useful for adding variety.

This might seem difficult to begin with but give it a go and once you start try and stick with it as the benefits and the reduction in blood pressure happens of several weeks and months. I found it got much easier after the first week as it became more of a habit.

If you really are struggling to eat 5 portions a day any increase will be beneficial and is worth the effort. For example a small study showed that eating two bananas a day had a positive and measurable reduction in blood pressure.

Note: increasing calcium and magnesium has also been shown to help lower blood pressure. Many of the high potassium foods also contain calcium or magnesium.

Not only will upping the fruit and vegetables help to lower your blood pressure, but all the additional vitamins, minerals and fibre will also help you avoid certain cancers, bowel problems, heart attacks and lower cholesterol. You’ll also likely have more energy and look and feel better!

An additional benefit that has recently been reported in the journal Stroke states that people eating lots of potassium rich foods have a reduced risk of stroke. The report says that for each 1,000-milligram (mg) increase in daily potassium, the odds of suffering a stroke in the next five to 14 years declined by 11 percent. The researchers do state that the findings do not prove that it is just the potassium alone in the potassium rich food which produces the positive effect, but who cares!

The science that potassium helps to lower blood pressure can’t be ignored. It has simply been proven so many times. On a personal level, after following a higher potassium diet for two months my blood pressure dropped by approximately 10 systolic and 5 diastolic. I only had stage 1 high blood pressure and many studies have shown that higher the blood pressure to begin with, results in greater the reduction in blood pressure.

Note: supplementation with potassium tablets is not advised. Excessive intake of potassium can lead to a condition known as Hyperkalemia in people with compromised kidney function. The recommended intake of potassium is 4.7mg per day. Providing you do not go too far over this via your diet you will be fine. If you do have a kidney problem consult your doctor before increasing your potassium intake.
http://knowledgeweighsnothing.com/40-foods-that-help-lower-blood-pressure/

Seven-a-day fruit and veg 'saves lives'

By Pippa Stephens

Eating seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day is healthier than the minimum five currently recommended and would prolong lives, experts say.

A study of 65,226 men and women indicated the more fruit and vegetables people ate, the less likely they were to die - at any given age.

Seven a day cut the risk of dying from cancer and heart disease.

Continue reading the main story

“

Start Quote

The clear message here is that the more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die at any age”

Dr Oyinola Oyebode

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL

But the government says its "five-a-day" advice is sufficient and that many of us struggle to achieve even this.

Experts said other lifestyle factors, such as not smoking or drinking excessively, may have accounted for the drop in mortality, although the study authors said they had tried to account for this.

Continue reading the main story

Five a day

The five-a-day message is based on advice from the World Health Organization

It highlights the health benefits of getting five 80g (3oz) portions of fruit and vegetables every day

Your five portions should include a variety of fruit and vegetables

Most fruits and veg count towards five a day

The government says it can include fresh, frozen, canned, dried or pure juices

Potatoes and cassava don't count because they mainly contribute starch to the diet

BBC Science: Is this the ultimate healthy meal?

The University College London researchers used the Health Survey for England, which collects data from people in England each year through questionnaires and nurse visits, to look at diet and lifestyle.

They analysed data between 2001 and 2008, which provided a snapshot rather than people's continuing dietary habits.

The study looked at general mortality as well as death from cancer, heart disease and stroke, and found risk of premature death from any cause decreased as fruit and veg consumption increased.

Risk of death by any cause over the course of the study was reduced by 42% for seven or more portions of fruit and veg (up to around 10 portions a day).

Fresh vegetables had the strongest protective effect, followed by salad and then fruit.

Fruit juice conferred no benefit, while canned fruit appeared to increase the risk of death - possibly because it is stored in sugary syrup, say the researchers.

Lead investigator Dr Oyinlola Oyebode said: "The clear message here is that the more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die - at any age."

She said the size of the effect was "staggering", but added that eating a few portions a day was still better than nothing.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26818377

This Supermarket Came Up With A Brilliant Way To Keep Food From Going To Waste

ANTHONY SELDEN

People don’t really think of starvation when they’re about to toss a perfectly fine batch of vegetables into the trash after dinner.

Furthermore, people don’t think about all of the food being wasted when they sort through their refrigerators.

Perhaps what’s even more frightening, is the fact that no one thinks about the fact that “spoiled” fruits and vegetables found at supermarkets can be used to create juices and supplements. Instead, they just go unused and wasted.

However, Intermarché, a French supermarket chain might’ve found the answer to stop things like that from happening.

Instead of tossing out spoiled-looking fruits and vegetables people refuse to buy at supermarkets, the company decided to transform these batches into soups and fruit juices.

The end result? Everyone bought the juices and soups!

Check out the video above for a closer look!

http://elitedaily.com/envision/food/supermarket-keep-food-going-waste-video/672280/

The Raw Food Diet: Trend Worth Trying or Half-Baked Hype?

Advocates of this diet make enticing claims: Look younger! Slim down! Cure your ailments! Here's what you need to know about eating raw.

By Rachel Mount

The way its proponents talk, raw food can sound like a magic potion served in a salad bowl. "When I transitioned to an all-raw lifestyle," says Karyn Calabrese, a restaurateur in Chicago, "I felt like I could walk on water. I didn't just stop aging; I began to feel as if I were actually growing younger." The 64-year-old—who could easily pass for 40—is brimming with energy. It's enough to make you want what she's having, which might be a portobello napoleon with "blue cheese" made from cashews, or an avocado puree with wakame and olives wrapped in nori. 

A raw diet consists of foods (typically produce, grains, seeds, nuts, and beans) that haven't been heated above a certain temperature, usually somewhere between 104 and 118 degrees. Cooking destroys enzymes that raw foodists believe are essential to human health; without those enzymes, the thinking goes, we're not getting the full, life-supporting benefits of our food. 

But this theory overlooks an important fact, says Andrea Giancoli, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "While it's true that cooking causes enzymes to unravel, the same thing happens to those enzymes as soon as they hit the acidic environment of your stomach." She says raw foodists enjoy so many health perks for a simpler reason: They're eating a lot of plants. Comprehensive lifestyle studies—like the China-Cornell-Oxford Project, which lasted 20 years and followed 6,500 participants—have found that plant-based diets greatly reduce the risk of chronic diseases and conditions. 

Still, says Eat to Live author Joel Fuhrman, MD, a specialist in nutritional medicine, there is some magic in raw fruits and veggies. It's not denatured enzymes that worry Fuhrman so much as the loss of vitamins and minerals that occurs and the carcinogens that are produced at high temperatures. He recommends eating a mix of cooked and uncooked produce, because some nutrients (like lycopene in tomatoes and carotene in carrots) are better absorbed after they've been heated. And when you do cook, opt for stewing or steaming. "As a rule," Fuhrman says, "if you cook things at a lower temperature for less time, you'll be moving in a healthy direction." 

Four years ago, Gena Hamshaw started shifting toward a mostly raw diet. "Not only did I feel better," says the certified clinical nutritionist, who writes a blog called Choosing Raw, "but, more importantly, I fell in love with the delicious taste of fresh food." Her advice is to start by adding simple uncooked dishes to your regular diet, like vegetable sides and blended soups. "Don't agonize over complicated recipes. Just eat a big chopped salad and you're on your way." 

http://www.oprah.com/food/Should-You-Go-on-a-Raw-Food-Diet-Raw-Food-Diet-Benefits

Re-growing celery - grow a new bunch indoors or outdoors

By Emily Ho

Don't toss that celery base! Did you know you can use it to re-grow a new bunch of celery?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 I recently came across this topic on both Facebook and Pinterest, so I had to learn more. (Who knew that celery proliferation was all the rage?) It's apparently quite simple: just stand the base in a small dish of water for a week or so until new leaves appear in the center. The leaves will be yellow at first, and once they really emerge and turn green, you can plant the celery in the ground or in a pot.

Here are a couple of examples:

• Tim and Mary at 17 Apart planted the celery indoors – in a repurposed steel cut oats container! – and share some great step-by-step photos and tips on their site. (The industrious couple has also re-grown bok choy, sweet potatoes, and green onions.)

• Kara at Ramblings of Handbag Designer planted the celery in her garden outdoors, and it's interesting to see the progression in her first, second, and third updates. Kara did tell us that she had a bit of trouble with pill bugs eating the decomposing celery, and says she might try it indoors in a pot next time.

Have you ever tried this?

http://www.thekitchn.com/re-growing-celery-grow-a-new-bunch-indoors-or-outdoors-169801

11 Super Health Benefits in Just One Celery Stalk

• Shubhra Krishan

Apples walk away with most health accolades, and spinach leads the healthy veggie brigade. Compared to them, celery is somewhat unsung, but once you read its incredible–and nearly endless–list of health benefits, you will quickly join its growing list of lovers.

• Celery is a great choice if you are watching your weight. One large stalk contains only 10 calories! So, add celery to your shopping list and enjoy it in your salads, soups and stir-fries.
• Celery reduces inflammation. If you are suffering from joint pains, lung infections, asthma, or acne, eating more celery will bring much-needed relief.
• It helps you calm down: Celery for stress-relief? Oh yes! The minerals in celery, especially magnesium, and the essential oil in it, soothe the nervous system. If you enjoy a celery-based snack in the evening, you will sleep better.
• It regulates the body’s alkaline balance, thus protecting you from problems such as acidity.
• Celery aids digestion: some say celery tastes like “crunchy water,” and that is the reason it is so good for your digestive system.  The high water content of celery, combined with the insoluble fiber in it, makes it a great tool for easy passage of stool. Note: because celery has diuretic and cleansing properties, those with diarrhea should avoid eating it.
• It contains “good” salts. Yes, celery does contain sodium, but it is not the same thing as table salt. The salt in celery is organic, natural and essential for your health.

• It cares for your eyes. One large stalk of celery can deliver up to 10 percent of your daily need for Vitamin A, a group of nutrients that protects the eyes and prevents age-related degeneration of vision.
• Celery reduces “bad” cholesterol: There is a component in celery called butylphthalide. It gives the vegetable its flavor and scent. Guess what: this component also reduces bad cholesterol! A Chicago University research shows that just two stalks of celery a day can reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) by up to 7 points!
• It lowers blood pressure: An active compound called phthalides in celery has been proven to boost circulatory health. Raw, whole celery reduces high blood pressure.
• It can amp up your sex life: and this is not just hearsay. Dr. Alan R. Hirsch, Director of the Smeel and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, says two pheromones in celery–androstenone and androstenol–boost your arousal levels. They are released when you chew on a celery stalk.
• Celery can combat cancer: Two studies at the University of Illinois show that a powerful flavonoid in celery, called luteolin, inhibits the growth of cancer cells, especially in the pancreas. Another study suggests that the regular intake of celery could significantly delay the formation of breast cancer cells.

Useful Tips:

Choose celery with upright stalks that snap when bent. The leaves should be fresh and crisp.  When selecting celery, remember this rule of thumb:  The darker the color, the stronger the flavor.

Freshly chopped celery retains its nutrients much better than if you chop and store it even for a few hours.

Steamed celery not only retains its flavor, but also most of its nutrients–up to 99 percent of them, in fact!

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/11-super-health-benefits-in-just-1-celery-stalk.html