My new obsession is healthier beauty products. I’m becoming more and more aware of the dangers of the chemical toxins found in so many of my used-to-be favorite brands, and as I march steadily down the path of wellness, I’m continuing to realize that health is a whole package. I can’t go all organic with my veggies, then spray toxic chemicals on my hair and think it’s okay. Nor can I use an all organic moisturizer, then wash it off at night with a harsh cleanser. Of course, it’s not completely all or nothing. I balance my efforts as best I can and every step in the right direction is a positive one.

So back to the cost of wellness. It’s not always cheap, and I certainly don’t have tons of funds to spend on expensive all-natural products. So instead of cutting corners, I do my homework and look for ways cut costs. Yesterday, I spent most of my Sunday switching back and forth between two websites: The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database, a fabulous website that I’ve mentioned before,

and VitaCost.com, another great website offering cheaper prices on vitamins, supplements, bath and beauty supplies, etc.

After all was said and done I ended up choosing the Aubrey Organics Natural Vegecol line and saved about 20%. This line scores 2/10 on Skin Deep’s hazard scale. I can live with that. I also ordered Badger SPF 30 Sunscreen for 15% less than the retail value. This sunscreen scored a 1/10 on Skin Deep’s sunscreen database. Woohoo!

Three cheers for safe sun protection and the slightly cheaper price of wellness.

What are your favorite natural bath and beauty products?

Yesterday was another late Tuesday and with nothing in the crock pot. Fortunately my Farm Fresh To You box arrived in the morning and in it the recipe and ingredients for a delicious dish. It didn’t take seconds to make but I had a late lunch and it was well worth the wait. I was missing an ingredient from the original recipe which I know would have made it perfect but it was good all the same.

I’m not sure who this recipe came from. Each week Farm Fresh includes a few recipes from their patrons. Actually, you get $5 off your next delivery if your recipe is picked. I haven’t gotten around to submitting one yet. My kitchen creativity has been below par these days. Thank you, wherever you are! Your submission is much appreciated.

Eggplant Casserole

• 1 eggplant – pared and diced
• 3-4 tomatoes
• 1 onion
• fresh basil – to taste
• olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onions and eggplant and cook on low until eggplant is tender. Add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper and simmer for a few more minutes. Transfer to a casserole dish and bake at 325° for 40 minutes.

That’s it! You can certainly serve this over rice or pasta, or add meat and other veggies but we ate it alone, as is, and it was perfect, especially since it was late at night and there was no need for a heavy meal. The original recipe called for bell peppers of which I had none but I will definitely add them next time. For a little punch, we added some hot sauce!  The All-Star went back for thirds.

Happy Cooking!

p.s. Sorry for the terrible pictures. I no longer have a camera and life has taken precedence over my photography skills.

No one can knock the bean. Vegetarians swear by them as a source of protein. They’re high in soluble fiber which helps lower cholesterol and promote good heart health. Full of cancer fighting antioxidants… Low glycemic index… Loaded with nutrients. And the best part about beans…They’re cheap!

The downside of beans… They can be a pain to prepare. First you gotta soak em, then you gotta cook em, and any leftover don’t last long in the fridge. That’s where the can comes in handy, for sure. Just open the can and you’re ready to go. But with the can comes high levels of sodium. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans “sodium from cooked dry beans increases from 3 milligrams to 618 milligrams per cup when replaced by canned beans!”

Can you imagine? That’s just under half the recommended maximum of sodium per day…in one cup of beans!!!

Cooking with dried beans is the optimum choice for good health. My suggestion would be to cook a big batch and freeze the extra for future meals. A little extra work can do  a whole lot of good for your body! Another benefit of going dry over canned is the cost. One pound of dried beans (which costs about a dollar) is approximately 12-14 servings of cooked beans, or about 4 cans worth!

The most convenient way to cook dried beans is in the slow cooker. Then you don’t have to sit around for hours just because the stove is on. You should still soak the beans overnight as this is said to make them more easy to digest.

• Take one pound of dried beans, rinse and pick over well to make sure there are no little rocks.
• Soak beans in enough water to cover plus an inch or two for 8 hours or overnight.
• Drain the beans and place in a slow cooker with 6-8 cups of water (enough to cover them). Cover the pot and cook on high for 8 – 12 hours.
• Optional additions could be onions, garlic or herbs. Don’t add salt or anything acidic while the beans are cooking as this will compromise the creaminess of the beans. These ingredients can be added once the beans are ready for whatever dish you’re going to prepare.

So that’s that for the bean and sodium and the negatives of the can. If you absolutely must use canned beans, make sure you choose brands that are low in sodium, rinse them thoroughly. and discard the juice.

I can’t stress enough the importance of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Use your culinary creativity to add these disease fighting edibles to every meal.

For breakfast, why not try an egg scramble with some sauteed zucchini, onion and fresh Roma tomatoes.

And don’t forget to shop local, organic, and in season whenever possible. This will insure you’re bringing the most fresh and nutrient dense produce to your table!

There are a lot of opinions out there about sunscreens. Both camps argue valid points. The advocates fear bad burns and abnormal moles gone awry while those opposed will warn of parabens and other toxic chemicals. Then of course there’s the “sun-saluters” who’ll tell you to expose your bare, un-screened skin to 15 minutes of rays a day, in order to fill up on necessary Vitamin D.

The truth of the matter is that skin cancer is a real and scary thing, and for some sun sans screen is not an option. If you’re like me and dare not spend more that 30 minutes under the warm summer sky without protection, you’ve got to explore this link… EWG’s 2010 Sunscreen Guide… Discover which sunscreens are the safest to use and which pose as much of a threat as those dreaded UV rays.

I was shocked to learn that some of the worst sunscreens out there are the ones we’re smearing on children.

Does your lotion measure up? Find out before your next sunny outing!

Happy Summer!

They help the environment and allow us to carry an heavier load than their evil plastic counterparts, but like all things there’s a down-side to the reusable grocery bag. Fortunately it’s one that is easily remedied.

A study done in Tuscan, Los Angeles and San Francisco showed traces of e. coli in half of grocery bags sampled. Now, of course making sure you wash your food well is an easy fix to this dilemma, but why tote around a bacteria breeding ground. Don’t forget to periodically wash your reusable grocery bags. This will ensure your bags are germ free and safe for those loose apples you decided not to waste a plastic bag on.

You know, with all the hype in the media concerning food contamination, one has to wonder what role we all play in the whole conundrum. Any thoughts?

We did it! 30 Days strictly vegan! We ended the challenge right with a delicious Carrot and Quinoa Soup made with some of the beautiful fresh and organic produce I received from Farm Fresh to You! Have I not told you about Farm Fresh? Well let me get started…

A patient recently referred us to the company and I thought I’d try it out. The farm is located in the Imperial Valley, privately owned and completely organic. I received my first delivery this Tuesday morning. 8:30am and it was already waiting for me outside my front door. How exciting to wake up to a box of fresh fruits and vegetables. I love delivery!

What I like most about this CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that differs from others is there is no commitment. I can cancel up to 48 hours in advance to a delivery and suspend a week if I’m going out of town. I can also choose to order weekly, biweekly, and even choose which produce I don’t want to receive. This prevents us from wasting foods we might not like.

The price is very reasonable and look at all the great produce we got!

So tonight I made one of the recipes included with my veggie box. (Isn’t that cool? It comes with recipes!) It called for the carrots, and carrot tops, and onion included in the box. I added some of the FarmFresh basil and the rest of the ingredients I picked up at Trader Joe’s on my way home from work.

Here’s the recipe for those who’d like to partake in it’s nutritional goodness! It’s a simple but hearty recipe…vegan, gluten-free, low on the glycemic index, basically good for everyone, unless you hate carrots. But who hates carrots?

Carrot and Quinoa Soup

• one bunch carrots and carrot tops (chopped)
• one onion (chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves (chopped)
• 4 cups veggie stock (plus extra if needed)
• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed (I used red – but it doesn’t matter)
• salt and pepper to taste
• red pepper flakes (if you like it spicy)
• herbs of your liking (I used basil and parsley)

Saute onions, garlic and red pepper flakes over medium heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until carrots are tender. That’s it!  Simple, tasty, and good for you. Enjoy!

Oh by the way. If you live in California and are interested in signing up with Farm Fresh to You, contact me and I’ll send you a code that will save you $5 off your first purchase!

Happy Days!

As you can probably assume by my lack of posts it has been a busy few weeks. I held my first Nutrition class, my business is continuing to grow, and the Vegan Challenge is drawing to a close, oh and The All-Star and I found a “secret” beach that we’re really excited about, it’s not really secret, but we’re pretending that it is.

I’ll catch you up a little bit on the Vegan challenge. Today is Day 24. No bail-outs or break-downs. We may or may not have consumed hidden ingredients.  Unless a food is labeled vegan, you really can’t be sure.  But we’ve done our best to avoid animals products at all costs and now over the half-way hump, I’m proud to say that I’m not missing much. It is doubtful that I will put this much effort into avoidance come July 1st but the continued effort to put high quality and nutritious foods in my body will continue! I’m really looking forward to my usual left-over lunches, which we haven’t had much of during this challenge, making grab-on-the-go a necessity at times. I found a very tasty Trader Joe’s wrap labeled vegan. Unfortunately it contains a little more salt than I’m used to. How do I know this? Not by reading the label. I know this by understanding my body and how it reacts to what it would rather do without.

This was a major message in my class last Wednesday – understanding our bodies and understanding our diets.  By recognizing simple changes in the way you feel, you gain insight into how to modify your diet effectively to one that is health promoting.

Here’s a little exercise I’d like you to try. Take a week, just seven days, and cut out all processed foods. Make everything from scratch, even your dressing, and use salt minimally. No more chips, or cookies, or canned soup or crackers. No frozen dishes, cured meats or boxed cereals. Let it all be fresh and whole. If you’re motivated, write down how you feel after each meal and at the end of each day. On day 8, eat something typical of your usual diet. This will give you a quick insight into how foods affect you. If when you reintroduce a food back to your diet, you feel crappy, it’s probably not good for you. If you feel fine, munch away.Of course this is just a little test, but you should notice a change. I takes a bit more work, but once you form that relationship with your body and how it reacts to food, you can gain back control over your diet and your health and feel confident that you’re on a path towards wellness!

Still going strong with the Vegan Challenge. We’ve been eating lots of beans and vegetables. My anti-oxidant levels should be through the roof. I feel good. No need for meat yet, though The All-Star explained to me this morning that eating meat makes him happy. I do believe that happiness is an important part of wellness, so we’ll let him have his hamburger on Day 31.

We finally took a trip to the Long Beach South East Farmer’s Market last Sunday. For $25 we scored a bunch of really delicious organic and locally grown fruits and vegetables. I bought some really inexpensive swiss chard that we still have plenty of. The strawberries were incredible, though must be eaten quickly as they are not long lasting.

Here’s a few pics of our awesome finds!

Amazing smelling basil – which I didn’t but buy will this Sunday- I sense vegan pesto on the menu for Monday!

The All-Star loves his cauliflower!

Crazy hybrid potatoes. The farmer said, “I’m the only one who’s got em.”  Lol, crazy farmer.

Nothing beats an Orange County strawberry!

Baby bok choy, the last of it for this season – already starting to bloom?

The full bounty

Twice as much organic Swiss chard for half the store price!

Lots of delicious veggie dishes this week, and one big baking success. I made another really awesome ragout. It was super fast and easy to make. It was just a large can of diced tomatoes, onion, sherry and assorted dried herbs. So simple and so good. I also added some chard ribs which I worried would make it bitter but did no such thing. I’m really excited about this ragout. The best part is that it doesn’t take hours to simmer like my Sunday Sauce does. I wish I had some pictures for you. You’ll just have to create your own visual.

More zucchini from the Hernandez garden was turned into a fabulous zucchini bread creation.  I found the recipe on Hell Yeah it’s Vegan and tailored it to fit the diets of everyone at the office. Bob’s Redmill Organic Rice Flour to make it gluten-free and Ener-G Egg Replacer for those of us challenging to be vegan. There’s also a very similar carrot cake recipe that I’m dying to try. I just have to figure out how to make the icing. I’m leaning towards coconut cream.

The recipe on the website calls for vegan cream cheese which is soy based. Most vegans use a lot soy. Soy milk, vegan cream cheese, tofu are common replacements for their non-vegan counterparts. We’ve been using organic soy milk in our morning coffee but I’m starting to think this isn’t a good route for the Cultivate Your Wellness household. We’ve both had an headache for a few days and neither of us ever get headaches. My digestive system is definitely off, and he’s felt bloated since Sunday. I’m blaming our symptoms on a possible sensitivity to soy. Once the carton is done, we’ll switch to rice milk and see how we feel.

Food sensitivities seem to be on the rise in this county. I blame processed foods and poor diets but regardless of where you place the blame, modifying your diet is necessary so as to not reap preventable havoc on your health. If you have unexplained symptoms you may want to consider food sensitivities to be the culprit.  Trying an Allergy Avoidance Diet can give you insight into what types of foods you make need to omit. Gluten is a big one, as is soy. But it could be dairy, or corn, or even yeast. The only way to know for sure is to remove a food from your diet and monitor your symptoms. For more information on food sensitivities visit the World’s Healthiest Foods website.

Two nights ago I made polenta for the first time. It is my new favorite starch. Good for you gluten-free folks out there as it’s basically just corn meal but blood-sugar watches take care, it’s a carb after all.

I served the polenta with a most delicious vegetable ragout. The All-Star said, and I quote, “If every meal tasted this good, I wouldn’t need meat.” I’d say that’s a grand-slam for team Vegan.

I didn’t feel like cooking tonight. I had planned to make the ragout again but I’ll save that for tomorrow. Thanks to HappyCow.net, we were able to find an Asian style restaurant that had a separate vegan menu. If you’re looking for a vegan restaurant in your area, you should check out their website. There’s a pretty distant listing. We would have never found this place, and it was only a couple of miles from our apartment. Happy days!

Here’s the ragout recipe for those who are interested. The polenta can be prepared however it says on the package. I just boiled 4 cups veggie broth and whisked in some corn meal. In 20 minutes I had warm and creamy goodness. Note: the more finely ground your polenta, the creamier it will be.

Vegetable Ragout

Ingredients

• olive oil, 2 tbsp
• 1 chopped yellow onion
• 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 2 sliced zucchini
• 3/4 lb mushrooms
• 1/2 lb seeded & chopped roma tomatoes
• 1/4 cup marsala wine or sherry
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
• salt & pepper

Warm the oil over medium heat. Cooking the onion about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, zucchini and mushrooms and cook them about 4-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, rosemary, marsala (or sherry), salt & pepper. Cooking another 3-4 minutes.

Serve over most delicious polenta.

Enjoy!