The Dirty Dozen

Today, you hear the word Organic now, more than ever. It enters conversations when talking with friends and family, is a focus at the grocery store, in online advertising and  in television ads. It was not along ago that Organic was for the wealthy and families feeding an average of 4 mouths would not spend the extra money for organic, but rather pay less for the conventional product sitting on the shelf beside it, the same product they have been buying their entire lives, and from eye view, they look exactly the same. In fact, people who bought ‘organic product’ were perceived to be crazy to spend more money on the same product.  I remember the comments said around it.  Boy, how times have changed!

 

Thank goodness for the internet and for advocates of natural healthy foods, that more and more information is available at our finger tips to help the public fully understand what it means to spend extra $$ on a product that says Organic. I am confident writing this  that there is an exponential growth of people who now understand what it means when a product is labelled organic, no chemical pesticides or  chemical fertilizers are used to grow the produce.  Pesticides are chemicals sprayed on crops to kill insects, fungus and bacteria, but in this process, they are making humans very ill. For more information visit the following site:http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/effects-of-pesticides/

 

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend, who asked me if I was aware of the ‘dirty dozen’. I had not, and she proceeded tell me that it is 12 food items that have the most pesticides on them and should always be purchased organic.  Very intrigued, I was eager to do a bit of research to find out what was on the list. Sure enough, just typing the two words Dirty and Dozen into the Google search engine, pages upon pages of information came up on the ‘dirty dozen’.  I highly recommend you do some more research on this.

 

So what are the Dirty Dozen?

 

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines
7. Grapes (imported)
8. Sweet Bell Peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale

 

To my surprise, the products that I always buy ‘organic’ were not on the list, the products I thought that would have been on this list were Soy, Corn, Peanuts, but I was wrong. Although I will continue to buy the products that I already only buy Organic based on GMO factors, I will be adding the other staples onto my grocery list, under the Organic list: spinach, strawberries, bell peppers, potatoes and apples.

 

Check out this website for detailed information on why these 12 are listed on the dirty dozen list: http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/dirty-dozen-foods#slide-1

 

Thanks for reading & happy cookin to all!

 
Lyndsay & Laurie

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What’s on the menu this week?   

• Rice Noodles with Peanut Sauce
• Fiesta Salad
• Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers
• Bok Choy Stir-fry
• Romaine, Tofu Salad & Sprouts
• Brunch: TLT
• Dessert: Fruit & Jam Parfait 

Enjoy!

Lyndsay & Laurie

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Contact us at lyndsay@vegmenufortheweek.com

Reduce Lung Inflammation Naturally

Two weekends ago, I did a very good clean of the housing, pulling everything out of the closet to dust the shelves, corners, floors, cracks and crannies and also gave the cats a very good brushing outside.  The problem with this picture is I am allergic to cats and dust (which I think we all allergic to dust particles on some level) so the combination of the two is a disaster for me.  Normally I can just take an antihistamine, hot shower and I am back to normal but unfortunately this time I was not so lucky.

Starting immediately my lungs were so tight, I could barely grasp for air and very scratchy feeling. I took my antihistamine, put on the humidifier and went to bed. 

I barely slept that night, with not able to get any oxygen, I was coughing repeatedly and quite honestly, I was afraid of my lung collapsing.  I had never experienced this prior, so I thought it was due to a bit of the cat dander getting deep into my lungs, as I was up close brushing them.

So what followed this sleepless night, were 3 more, my cough was so deep and anything I was coughing up tasted like what I breathed in from my inhaler and also a bit like metal.  Small chunks of bright green infection were coming up.  But this still wasn’t enough for me to go to the doctor, I still thought there was no need, I wasn’t “sick”.

After a full week and weekend of the cough no improving, but getting worst, I finally took a trip to the clinic to speak to the doctor about the cough, to make sure that there was no infection setting in.  I was starting to get worried about pneumonia.

He listened to me cough once and immediately said that I had lung inflammation and if I didn’t treat it immediately, I am at high risk for bronchitis.  Yikes!

So what did he do?  Gave me a prescription for penicillin BUT he actually told me to go home, and for the next 24 hrs drink as much chicken broth, garlic and ginger that I could and I should see the roughness of my cough lessen.  I was so shocked and impressed that a medical doctor actually recommended natural remedies before medicine. 

So I headed home. Stopping at the health food store and got a fresh juice, with carrot, heavy beat and heavy ginger with some garlic,  didn't taste spectacular but I am a believer that short term pain – long term gain!

While sipping that I stopped in and grabbed some vegetarian pho from my local Vietnamese restaurant near my house, when you take out, they put the broth in a separate container, so it is perfect. 

Came home, put the broth on a simmer and added some fresh minced ginger and garlic and when I say some, I mean heavy!  The soup actually tasted just shy the garlic sauce you get at a Shwarma house with a bite to it from the ginger!

Sure enough, I slept a full night without interruption and the cough was still there, but I didn't sound like it was coming up from my belly button! I continued the broth this day with light on the garlic and ginger and continued with the fresh juice for a few days and naturally I was able to treat this inflammation without using medicine and no bronchitis to date!

Below is a list of foods that help with inflammation:

• Flax Seed
• Canola Oil (buy organic)
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Broccoli
• Hemp Oil
• Tart Cherries
• Garlic
• Onions
• Ginger
• Walnuts (soak them 8 hrs in purified water before eating)
• Turmeric
• Spinach

Five Spice Noodles

Ingredients:

• 8 oz firm tofu, cubed
• 12 oz rice noodles
• 1” ginger, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
• 1/4 teaspoons chili paste
• 1 cup shelled edamame
• 3 cups onion broth
• 2-3 tbsp tamari/light soy
• 1-2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• Generous bunch of cilantro

Prep: 15 Mins   Cook: 15 Mins

Instructions:

1. Cook noodles as per package instructions

2. In non stick or seasoned skillet on medium-high, dry pan fry tofu, tossing until all sides are lightly browned, approximately 3 minutes

3. Add ginger, garlic, five spice, chili paste and edamame, toss in hot pan for an additional 2-3
minutes

4. Add broth, tamari and noodles, simmer for an additional 5 minutes

5. Served in bowls and drizzle with sesame oil and garnish with cilantro