Tom’s Too-Thick-To-Drink Fruit Smoothie

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Too Thick to Drink Fruit Smoothie

As the title suggests, this smoothie is chock-full of fruit and added nutrients. The supporting players give the smoothie its body and complement the fruit flavors: you can actually taste the cherries and blueberries and banana separately. We make it so thick we use a spoon. The spoon will slow you down but gives the added benefit of allowing your body more time to absorb the gorgeousness of this anti-oxidant rich meal.

Please note: if a thick smoothie isn’t your thing, just add more (veggie) milk or juice to thin it out- you’ll still get the benefits and the yum body feel.

This smoothie is fantastic after a workout or as breakfast in the hot summer months. The additions are rough suggestions and change with what’s on hand, so feel free to add what you like best to make your own concoction.

 

Yields: 2 servings in 12 oz. glasses

Ingredients:

1 C blueberries (fresh or frozen)                               2 T Green Vibrance

1 C cherries (pitted fresh or frozen)                          2 tsps chia seeds (Mila)

2 bananas, ripened                                                2 tsps milled flax seeds

2 T coconut flakes                                                 2 tsps nutritional yeast

½ C soy, rice, or almond milk                                 2 tsps lecithin

½ C plain Greek yogurt, 0% fat

 

1.Slice bananas into a blender and add the milk liquid; puree until smooth.

2. Add the blueberries and cherries (Costco sells organic both) and puree or liquefy.

3. Add yogurt and all other ingredients and blend until everything is well incorporated.

4. Enjoy

 

Nutritional Notes:

The blueberries and cherries are full of antioxidants.

Green Vibrance is a green-based product made of powdered vegetables, fruit, and herbs- real food- to provide a whole host of nutrients and probiotics.

Chia and flax seeds contain high amounts of both Omega 3 and 6 from a plant source, which makes it more balanced, and trace amounts of minerals.

Nutritional yeast has a high percent of most of the B vitamins, and good amount of magnesium, both of which are highly beneficial to nervous system function.

Lecithin is a fat emulsifier and many claim its health benefits include reducing cholesterol, boosting liver function, fighting heart disease, and improving brain function, but we looked it up and the research to back these claims is inconclusive so far.

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At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have over 30 years experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted

 

Filed Under: All Things Food, Cooking Basics, Health Tips, Nourishing You, Recipes, You Are What You Eat Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Preserving Hot Peppers

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hot peppers from the greenmarket

Update: Ha! Since I wrote this post we’ve moved to Colorado, where hot peppers abound. Costco has a pounds of scorched-and-peeled green chilies in the freezer section. Comparatively, the trend is just beginning to take hold in New York.

There’s something addictive about the inside-out flavor hot pepper can impart to a dish, and the greenmarket is full of them right now, so my thoughts (Carol) began to percolate about preserving them to have that flavor in the coming winter months.

Casting about for a proven method, it seems from reviews across the internet that the freeze-raw method is the most popular, but I tried two methods: the freeze-raw method with the small and skinny ones, and the roast-then-freeze method with the larger and rounder ones.

Preserving hot peppers takes minutes to prep. I recommend you use gloves to avoid the onerous effects you can get from even washed hands near your eyes, nose, or face.

1. Start by cleaning the peppers and letting them dry.

2. Cut off the ends, slice lengthwise, and remove the pulpy core and seeds.

3a. To freeze: place on cookie sheet or flat plate in batches and freeze, then put in a freezer bag for storage

3b. To roast, then freeze: place in 375-degree oven until darkened, about 1 hour, check every 20 minutes to be safe; skin while hot, let cool, and freeze as above

In both instances, freezing the peppers on the flat surface keeps them from sticking together for longer storage. Pack tightly to avoid the icy buildup that comes with months in the freezer.

Preserving Hot Peppers

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At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have over 30 years experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: Nourishing You Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Nuts and Bolts of Carbohydrates

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complex carbs: grains, seeds, nuts, and vegetables

complex carbs: grains, seeds, nuts, and vegetables

Carbohydrates are our primary source of energy and dietary fiber. Carbohydrates are also intrinsically involved in many biologic processes.

It’s no accident that when we are hungry, we reach for carbohydrates, for carbohydrates are the form of energy our bodies prefer and digest first:

-Our cells prefer using carbohydrates to enter into the KREBS cycle, a complicated metabolic process that yields THE energy molecule, ATP

-Our bodies prefer carbohydrates as the energy source because those calories are structurally easier to get to than fats or protein

-Amylase is the enzyme in saliva that begins the breakdown process of carbohydrates into its usable units as sugars

In the context of nutrition, carbohydrates are referred to as simple or complex
-Simple carbohydrates
—monosaccharides = 1 sugar molecule; glucose and fructose are monosaccharides
—disaccharides = 2 sugar molecules = 1 glucose and 1 fructose; lactose and sucrose are disaccharides

-Complex carbohydrates
—polysaccharides = many monosaccharides joined by chemical bonds into chains and branches
—oligosaccharides = 2-10 monosaccharides joined by chemical bonds into chains and branches

Complex carbohydrates provide a higher quality source of energy with a longer breakdown process, which slows the onset of hunger and stabilizes blood sugar levels.

The plant sources of complex carbohydrates provide dietary fiber:
-The cellulose in the plant wall has polysaccharides and oligosaccharides
—The polysaccharides portion is made of insoluble fibers, and because humans lack the enzyme to digest cellulose, this material passes through the digestive tract nearly intact, helping to eliminate other toxins from the body with it

—The oligosaccharides can break down; they are the food source for the micro- flora in our digestive tract

-Compounds from plants are used in our cellular functioning and systemically
— Lower cholesterol, anti-cancer, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral; bind to specific hormones that are in excess to clear the body of them and eliminate with solid waste; reduce hunger cravings
-Compounds from plants are commonly used in industry
—As thickening and binding agents for a multitude of products, from ice cream to pharmaceutical gels

Carbohydrate Digestion, Assimilation, and Synthesis
The storage carbohydrate in animals is glycogen. When not utilized by the body, carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the liver and in the muscles. Leftover leftovers are stored as fat.

Recommended Amounts
Age, gender, general constitution, and activity levels vary from person to person, so recommending the proportions of protein, fat, and carbohydrate in the diet isn’t possible.

For every gram of carbohydrate you consume, you get 4 calories of energy- this is true for any type of carbohydrate. Here’s a link that gives you a general guideline of amounts for you, including vitamins and minerals for you, based on age, gender, and activity level.

At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we will review of your diet to figure out what your dietary needs are, and offer feedback and suggestions after assessing your condition, health history, and general constitution.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/the-nuts-and-bolts-of-carbohydrates

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At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have over 30 years experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: All Things Food, Health Tips, Integrative Medicine, You Are What You Eat Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Limbic System: Emotions, Learning, & Memory

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skull_1

Neural Connections Grow and Change

While we experience emotions and memories as ephemeral and therefore not concrete, the fact is they are processed in a distinct region of the brain named the Limbic System, and they are made up of molecules that interact with nerves.

The Limbic System (LS) is a network of neurons that links the hypothalamus and pituitary gland to the cerebrum. The LS has a direct effect on the Nervous and Endocrine Systems.

Memory and memorization is reinforced through repetition, which strengthens the connections into neural pathways. Emotions and sensory components (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) enhance memory; the input of more than one sensory component and/or the stronger the emotion experienced, the greater our ability with be to recall that memory.

The LS could be called the conscience, because it processes the emotional aspects of behavior. In a perfect world, behavior and emotions that accompany it are rational and are in sync with each other, for example, eating when hungry, working for money, and resting in the evening.

When symptoms arise that elude diagnostic testing and are classified “psychosomatic,” medical science has suggested these disorders may originate in the Limbic System. Because the LS influences the nervous and endocrine systems, emotions of stress (fear, anxiety, anger) could affect the delicate balance in those systems and manifest as an identifiable symptom.

On a purely physical level, when we learn and practice a new task, these new neural connections become permanently part of us. First they are stored in the motor cortex region of the brain (receives and sends signals pertaining to voluntary movement), later they dropped down to the basal nuclei (deeper in the brain), and eventually they are stored in the spinal cord once the task no longer requires conscious effort. Neural memory exists in physical space and can be built upon.

This explains how, after a lapse of many years, a skill can be re-learned quickly, based on that stored knowledge. For example, if you took ballet or piano lessons in grade school and decided twenty years later to take classes, the stored memory would help you come up to speed more quickly than if you had to learn from scratch.

Similarly, emotional memory is thought to first to be stored first in a specific area of the LS, the amygdala, and then moved to the pre-frontal cortex. These neural connections have nutrient substances that make them up – proteins and minerals. They exist in physical space as distinct components, like physical memory, perhaps as malleable, to be built upon and changed.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/the-limbic-system-emotions-learning-memory

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At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have over 30 years experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: Integrative Medicine, Stress Busters, Uncategorized, You Are What You Eat Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Salsa Verde

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Salsa Verde

There’s nothing in the world quite like freshly-made green salsa, and once you make this, you’ll never want to spend a fortune on the jarred version again. It’s also super-easy to assemble.

Green Salsa Verde

Green Salsa Verde

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs of tomatillos- look for small and uniform size to make broiling easier
1-2 jalapeno peppers finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup of chopped cilantro, or 1 teaspoon dried
Salt to taste

Preparation:
1. Pre-heat the broiler. Slice the tomatillos in half and place in roasting pan (see photo). Broil 4-7 minutes (depends on your broiler).

2. Put all the ingredients in a blender and puree. Voila!

Green salsa will last about a week in the fridge stored in a sealed glass container, and
can be used in a burrito or on top, as a dip with chips, and as an accent flavor with fish, pork, and stir-fry’s.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/salsa-verde

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At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have over 30 years experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: All Things Food, Cooking Basics, Health Tips, Recipes, Uncategorized, You Are What You Eat Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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