Hemp Seeds, One of the Ways to Rebalance and Detox Your Body

Author: Willie Jones

Unless you live in a pesticide and chemical free environment and eat only 100% organic, there is an excellent chance that your body is overburdened, nutrient deficient and headed toward obesity and long term problems. North America in particular has been lulled by the food industry to eat supposedly safe, processed, packaged and canned foods. Well you've been fooled long enough!

Almost every time you open a package to cook something, not only are you eating inferior food, you are also for the most part eating MSG. (Even some organic foods). I cover this in an earlier article and I recommend you educate your self on this subject as well.

In the last 50+ years man has changed the way we eat so much that the health our great grandparents enjoyed are difficult to obtain today. Not impossible but very difficult. Our big problem today is toxicity! Our bodies are toxic and over acidic and we need to take steps to ward off future problems. Hemp seeds can help in a big way!

No other seed or nut that I know of can match the quality and balance of nutrients that the hemp seeds contain. Flax seeds come close but the hemp seed contains the correct balance of Omega 3 and omega 6 essential oils as well as linoleic acid, vitamin E and trace minerals and is an impressive 33% protein.

Hemp seeds are an excellent solution for vegetarians.

Our diets today are often without the correct balance of nutrients, for example, if you take a calcium supplement, you may not be absorbing it into the body because calcium needs magnesium and something acidic with it like a bit of vinegar or lemon juice in water to be absorbed into the body. So it is with omega 3 and omega 6. You need both to provide the cells in the body what it needs otherwise imbalances occur.

You can take fish oils for omega 3 and 6 but if you don't like the after taste or have concerns about our polluted lakes, rivers and oceans, then eating hemp seeds or using cold pressed hemp oil in salad dressings can be a great alternative. They have a mild nutty taste and can be added to just about any meal. It is best to start your morning with hemp seeds in your breakfast, (add it to cereals, yogurt or smoothies or grind them to make a nut butter.) If you want to replace dairy you can make hemp milk a home. Here is a recipe;

2 cups of hulled hemp seeds

Very hot water

Blender

Colander

Hemp cloth or cheese cloth

Put the hemp seeds in the blender. Add hot water to about ¾ of the way. Place the lid on the blender and hold tight with your hands. Start the blender on the lowest setting so that the content doesn't explode out of the blender. (Hot liquids can do that). Once your blender is working smoothly you can increase slowly up to high and blend for a couple of minutes. Place the colander into a large bowl, then place the cheesecloth into the colander. Slowly pour the milk into the colander. When all of the liquid is in the bowl, grab all four corners and squeeze out the remaining liquid. Pour the milk into glass container with a lid and refrigerate. Use it any where you would regular milk.

The body needs healthy fats and hemp seeds have all the essential fatty acids your body wants. When your body starts getting the nutrition and the healthy fats it needs, it will start to detox and rebalance the body to the proper acid/alkaline state and this is what you want because disease only thrives in an overly acid body. Eating hemp seeds daily may restore luster to your hair, improve skin conditions and more importantly may improve cardio vascular health and who wouldn't want that!

You may want to consider the benefits of eating organic fruits and vegetables in addition to hemp seeds to improve overall health


Enjoy!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/hemp-seeds-one-of-the-ways-to-rebalance-and-detox-your-body-463284.html

About the Author:
Willie is a researcher and freelance writer whose own health problems prompted her to gain information on health and wellness and share that knowledge with others. She is co-owner of http://www.cleanbodydetox.com a site that focuses on detox through foot baths and foot massager

Eating Unprocessed in a Processed World.

Follow me on my whole foods journey!
Visit me in the kitchen to see what I'm eating, baking, and cooking here.

Oprah isn’t the only one loving Steel Cut Oats for breakfast!

ABOUT OATS: Unlike quick rolled oats, steel cut oats haven't been steamed, rolled, or toasted. Nor have they been pre-cooked, dried, or sweetened, like instant oatmeal. Steel cut oats are whole grain goodness->the innermost part of the oat kernel. The most natural, least processed, making them the healthiest oat choice.

Can I just say that when this is baking, your whole house will smell devine.

How I made it:

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees F. Put *2 cups of Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats in a large baking dish. Added 7-8 cups of water. Sprinkled some sea salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stirred. Covered with foil and baked for 35 minutes. I then checked and stirred it and put it back in the oven for additional 10 minutes, or until done.

*SERVINGS:

I like to make enough oats to have a muffin size portion every day for a week. This works with 2 cups of oats. If you prefer fewer servings, use 1 cup of oats and 4 cups of water.

WHAT TO ADD TO STEEL CUT OATS once it's cooked? When you are ready to prepare your individual serving, anything goes! Fruit, spices, peanut butter, nuts, seeds, natural sweeteners. Experiment and find your fave mix.

WHAT DO I LIKE IN MY OATS? When I pop the muffin size serving out of the freezer (see HOW TO FREEZE below), I throw on a dollop of organic peanut butter and heat it in the microwave. Once it's ready to eat, I'm heavy on the spices (I stir in some pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg), add some nuts (walnuts, pecans or almond slices) and seeds (hemp or ground flax) and sliced banana.

HOW TO FREEZE: Put the cooked oats in a muffin tin to freeze. Once frozen, pop them out and transfer to small freezer bags. That way you can take one out at a time to enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

COUNTING CALORIES: If you are counting calories, a 1/4 cup of dried Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats is one serving and is 140 calories.

Crockpot Black Eyed Peas

Have you ever made black eyed peas before?
Here's my recipe for making them using dried black eyed peas.
Black eyed peas on a bed of brown rice garnished with
pear slices. Tasty!

Recipe here...

Step 1) Rinse, sort and wash peas.
I usually cook up 8 oz-1 pound at a time and freeze the extra.
How to refrigerate or freeze black-eyed peas

Step 2) Soak peas overnight in cold water. I soaked these for 12 hours.

Step 3) Rinse and wash peas again after overnight soak.

Step 4) Set crockpot on HIGH and add peas with mixture of fresh water & 1 can of beef broth.

Step 6) Use food chopper to mince 1 onion and 4-5 garlic cloves. Add to crock.

Step 7) Add rest of ingredients to crock. Sprinkle of chili powder, Adobo seasoning, and cumin.
Cook in crock for a few hours or until peas are tender.
Optional: Sprinkle the Spanish Rice Seasoning on peas after you dish it up.

RICE: I use Lundberg Organic Long Grain Brown Rice.
Replace water with Beef Broth.

Visit my cooking blog here to see more recipes!

Pineapple Zucchini Bread. Delicious!

Okay, so I've given up sandwich bread but I can't resist a delicious quick bread!
I wanted to eat this whole bundt loaf at one sitting...
Feel free to share your quick bread recipes in the comment section:)

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

Original recipe from Light & Tasty June/July 2007 magazine

Yields: One bundt pan or one loaf pan

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup Jarrow Formulas Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
• 1/3 cup Applesauce
  
• 2 egg whites
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1/2 can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat with a mixer-> the sugar, applesauce, coconut oil, egg whites, egg, and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat into sugar mixture->flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda. Stir in the zucchini, pineapple, and walnuts.
• Transfer mixture to bundt pan.
  
• Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  
• Let cool completely before taking out of the bundt pan.

Green Your Life with Beans!

It's never too late to incorporate beans into your daily diet.

Beans = superfood!

Health Benefits of Black Beans

Below is my recipe for the spicy bean & rice dish shown above.
Instead of a sandwich for lunch, eat beans and rice instead!

Spicy Black Beans

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound (8 0z) dried black beans
• 4 oz can diced Jalapeno peppers
• 14.5 oz can Chili Ready Tomatoes
• dribble of Cayenne Hot Sauce
• 1 Onion
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 2 Cans Beef Broth
• Lundberg Long Grain Brown Rice Gluten Free (get $5 off when you use Code CEL445 at iherb.com)
  

How to Make:

• Wash and sort dried beans. Place beans in bowl and cover with cold water plus a few extra inches (I use a large glass canister with cover on my counter). Soak beans for 8 hours.
  
• Rinse beans again, discard water.
  
• Put beans in crockpot and cover with fresh water plus a few extra inches of water.
  
• Cook on LOW in crock for 10-11 hours or until beans are almost cooked.
• Add Jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic cloves, and hot sauce and cook on HIGH for 1 1/2 hours longer, or until beans are tender.
• Cook Lundberg rice. I replace the water with Beef Broth and this gives it a delicious taste. I like to make 8-10 servings of rice at a time to last throughout the week. Which is=2 cups of rice PLUS 4 cups of Beef Broth. Read directions on package. This rice takes atleast 50 minutes.
  

Are Egg Whites or Whole Eggs Healthier For You?

Author: Michael Geary

It's not uncommon for the majority of people to think that egg whites are healthier for you than whole eggs. I'm going to show you here why that is a major false belief, and why whole eggs are MUCH better for you than egg whites.

I was on a vacation recently with some friends & one of my friends was cooking breakfast for the entire group. I went over to see what he was cooking and saw he was preparing a large batch of eggs.

Unfortunately, to my shock and horror, I noticed that he was cracking the eggs open and screening the egg whites into a bowl and throwing the egg yolks out down the drain. I asked him why the heck he was throwing out the egg yolks, and his reply was something of the sort...

"because I thought the egg yolks were horrible for you... all of the nasty fat and cholesterol is in the yolks I thought".

And I replied something like, "you mean that's where all of the nutrition is!"

This is a perfect example of how confused the majority of society is about nutrition. In a world full of food marketing misinformation and deception, somehow most people now mistakenly think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg, when in fact, the yolk is actually the HEALTHIEST portion of the egg!

By throwing out the yolk and only eating the egg whites, you are basically throwing out the most nutrient dense, vitamin and mineral loaded, antioxidant-rich portion of the egg. The egg yolks contain so many trace minerals, B-vitamins, vitamin A, choline, folate, lutein, & other powerful important nutrients... it is not even worth trying to list them all.

In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition when compared to the egg yolk.

Even the protein in egg whites is not as powerful and bioavailable without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more useful to your body. Not to even mention that the egg yolks from free range chickens are chock full of omega-3 fatty acids.

The egg yolks contain more than 90% of the phosphorus, calcium, zinc, iron, thiamin, B6, B12, folate, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the egg yolks contain the entire amount of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids (EFAs).

And now the typical objection I get all the time when I say that the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg...

"But Mike... I heard that whole eggs will skyrocket my cholesterol through the roof, and they are high in fat"

No, this is FALSE thinking!

First of all, when you eat a food that is high dietary cholesterol such as eggs, your body down-regulates it's internal production of cholesterol to balance things out.

On the other hand, if you don't eat enough cholesterol, your body simply produces more since cholesterol has many important functions in your body.

And here is where it gets even more interesting...

There are indications in scientific studies that eating whole eggs actually raises your good HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL cholesterol, thereby improving your overall cholesterol ratio and blood chemistry.

And 3rd... high cholesterol is NOT a disease! Heart disease is a disease... but high cholesterol is NOT. Cholesterol is attacking the wrong problem... The real problem is the underlying internal inflammation that is signaling your body to deposit cholesterol as a healing agent. Attacking the root cause of the internal inflammation (smoking, stress, poor diet of refined sugars, trans fats, etc) is the real solution to heart disease... not trying to lower cholesterol.

And the fat argument is simply ridiculous... despite the popular erroneous belief, the fats in free range eggs are good for you and will actually help make you leaner via appetite control and hormonal balance.

So I hope we've established that whole eggs are not some evil food that will wreck your body... instead whole eggs are FAR superior to egg whites. Egg whites are basically just a processed food since you've messed up what nature intended.

Also, your normal super-market eggs from mass factory farms just do not compare nutritionally with organic free range eggs from healthy chickens that are allowed to roam freely and eat a more natural diet.

I recently compared eggs I bought at the grocery store with a batch of eggs I got at a farm stand where the chickens were free roaming and healthy.

Most people do not realize that there i s a major difference because they have never bought real eggs from healthy chickens... The eggs from the grocery store had thin weak shells and pale yellow yolks.

On the other hand, the eggs from the healthier free range chickens from the local farm had deep orange colored yolks and strong thick shells indicating much higher nutrition levels and carotenoids, and just a healthier egg in general.

So the next time a well-meaning but misinformed health or fitness professional tells you that egg whites are superior, you can quietly ignore their advice knowing that you understand the REAL deal about the nutritional supremacy of egg yolks.

One more interesting tidbit about eggs...

I read a study recently that compared groups of people that ate egg breakfasts versus groups of people that ate bagel or cereal based breakfasts. The results of the study showed that the egg eaters lost or maintained a healthier bodyweight, while the cereal/bagel eaters gained weight and had more body fat.

It was hypothesized that the egg eaters actually ate less calories during the remainder of the day because their appetite was more satisfied (from the healthy fats and quality protein) compared to the cereal & bagel eaters who would have been more prone to wild blood sugar swings and more frequent food cravings.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/are-egg-whites-or-whole-eggs-healthier-for-you-357536.html

About the Author:

If you have stubborn belly fat, learn several proven techniques to get rid of it at Lose Your Belly Fat Fast, Abs Diet Tips

Attention Skiers - learn the most effective way to prepare your body for skiing at Best Skiing Workouts, Skier Exercises for Legs & Core