Beautiful Consumables

Five Ways to Sneak Nutrition into Your Loved Ones: Tip #3

Monday, April 30th, 2012

Ok, so many of you might complain that this is cheating, but… so far it is one of the more successful sneaks. You don't even have to hide it! You do however need to add Vodka.

Caesar, where have you been all my life?

Lime Wedge

rim the glass, (hey, none of that!!) I simply mean run the lime around the edge to wet it……
squeeze and drop wedge into the glass (or garnish)
vit C, enzymes, lovely sour for that chinese medicine taste protocol, and well, it's green?

Celery Salt

Here's where I win! For much cheaper, you can buy whole celery seeds and mortor & pestle or grind them up with coarse sea salt (see my tip #1:) and get creative!
Seaweed, pepper flakes from the garden – hand dried by needle and thread – or maybe chipotle?! You see what I mean.
Just powder 'em all up and dump on a clean surface, then dip the edge of the limed-up glass in it so it sticks to the edge

Ice

hey! It's still H2O, water, hydration and all…
fill glass, whatever glass you use

1oz vodka

the cleanest of the alcohols, the only one allowed by naturopaths if you are on a candida diet (shhhhhh…)
sugarless, grain free*

*Interesting fact though, check the label… in my liquor store I could only find ONE brand made from potatoes.. I thought that was the basic premise behind Vodka! But most of them are "winter grains" or wheat. It's distilled all the same, but STILL! (pun intended)

bunch of Wort sauce, Worteshire, Worticheshire (who the hell named this?)
- a scoop on what's inside Worcestershire

shake it like a polaroid picture
i'm sorry for the above bullet point
its got fishies!!! heh. (!vegan warning!)
apparently it's the British answer to Vietnamese Fish Sauce
savoury and best not to think about the rest…
the real stuff is fermented, and that is good for the digestion and absorbtion of many minerals and vitamins

Tobasco,

they say 2 dashes, I say 5+
I figure any chili sauce will do, made with vinegar
chili's – if not messed with – are high in the vit C area too
pep up that digestive fire, warm up your cold nights

4oz Clamato Juice (spicy)

!redundant vegan warning!
spicy, clams, veggies, tomato paste, etc…
I'm sure on some bottle, somewhere, there is a claim for "{some number here} servings of veggies!"
clam broth, it's gotta be good for something!
vit A (according to my label)

Pour into glass.

Add more celery salt, or salt and pepper.

Garnish

this is the super veggie bonus addition round
half a celery stick
olives
asparagus for those fussy adventurous types
ideas?

My fuss-pot eater requests these, and has even bothered to learn how to make them! I figure, what's an ounce of vodka compared to all that other craziness? Just don't get in the habit of drinking them as your salad course. I mean it.

Posted in beautiful consumables, drink me!, eat me!, Nutrition | No Comments »

Five Ways to Sneak Nutrition into Your Loved Ones: Tip #2

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

Next on the sneaky mission for stealth vitamins… Miso!

Miso is one of the most nutrient packed things I can think of off the top of my head. B-vitamins, enzymes, protein and goodness (vitamin G) are all contained within small amounts of this Japanese salty paste. I've been told it's similar to Marmite which hails from Australia, but I haven't confirmed this for myself, just relying on hear-say.

How do you hide this quite distinctive taste you ask? Think salty, think savory; after all it is used traditionally as a soup stock.

TIPS:

Mash and mix well with whatever you are combining it with.
Use the paste not instant powder for maximum health benefits.
Don't boil, fry, or microwave to keep the nutritional content intact – treat it gently, like a delicate flower of the stock family.
keep in mind the different colours have different shades of flavour: whites to light-yellows are sweeter and milder, yellows to dark-reds are saltier and stronger.

#2. Miso it Up

1. Sneak a bit into that cup-o-soup package when you mix in the boiling water (shhhhh…) not too much though, enough to make the fuss-pots think they are going slightly crazy, but not enough to suspect that you might be the culprit.

2. Mix equal parts Mayonaise and Miso into a smooth (ish) paste and use as a spread for sandwiches or burgers. I've especially gotten away with it on breakfast egg-sandwich-with-cheese type things.

3. Mix equal parts Tahini and Miso and thin with warm water to use as a savoury sauce or gravy on things as diverse as asparagus (haha) to potatoes or meats. –This tip I gleaned off a friend nutritionist (link soon).

4. Use in a cheesball! Yes, cheeseball, the creamy, sharp, herby things you bring to dinner parties. They are always asking for worcestershire sauce or other savoury condiments, just start off light and add Miso to taste, remembering that letting the cheeseball sit brings out more flavour.

Have fun!

Posted in beautiful consumables, eat me!, Nutrition | No Comments »

Five Ways to Sneak Nutrition into Your Loved Ones: Tip #1

Friday, February 10th, 2012

Do you, like me, have a pretty good working knowledge of nutrition, opinions to spare, a strong belief that you are, in fact, what you eat…

…and someone(s) in your life who couldn't care less?

Well, after much lamenting, cajoling, mentoring, throwing up handing, and finally saying "fine, eat what you like i'm putting seaweed in my dinner dammit!" -ing, I have come up with a few tricks to appease my sense that time is running out to stuff adequate nutrition into another human being. Because, lets face it, it ain't my body, so I really don't have the right to feel put out by it all.

Educate, don't Berate! (is that how the saying goes?)

IN THE MEANTIME:

#1. Spruce up the Salt

One good thing about fussy eaters, is that they are usually also too lazy to remedy a situation unless it is very uncomfortable. So, get yourself a salt shaker that is also a grinder, some unrefined course sea salt (grey if you can get away with it) and some seaweed of your choice. Mix it all together and pour into grinder. Then, get rid of any other salt options in the house. If they want to saltify, they must grind! I haven't actually had any complaints, as it really does just taste salty.

TIPS:

grinder: if you can afford ceramic parts, great, they don't rust. If not, plastic or stainless steel will do the job. If you can't find one easily, you can buy one of those specialty salts in any grocer to start with and then just keep refilling it with your own mix.

salt: get the biggest course salt you can find, if it is damp (high quality) you might need to spread it out on something (pan, towel, board) and dry it out first. The grey colour is because it hasn't been bleached or refined and it still contains all those tasty trace minerals that we actually need. They also help minimize the damage excess salt causes in the body. After all, we came from the sea originally right?

seaweed: This is all preference… As I am lazy, I buy Dulse flakes, which are already cut up for you and mix well with salt. I've also used Alaria, which come in black strands and breaks up nicely when dry. Kelp gives you a littel extra calcium and Nori a little extra protein. Use your imagination!

So, don't do the salty dance of guilt, just spruce* your salt up!

*you know you Can eat spruce needles (or at least make vit. C rich tea outa them), but you might find the taste a little strong and distracting for salt…

Posted in beautiful consumables, eat me!, Nutrition, salt | No Comments »

Looking for a Green Christmas? Who Needs Snow when there is Frozen Algae!

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Need some extra pep to get you though this busy time of the year, with the side effects of good health?

Just a quick note to let you know that on of my favorite products, E3Live is having a Holiday Special!

You can get 20% Off Your Order!
Valid from Dec. 12th to Jan 2nd (midnight to midnight EST)

This will give you a chance to stock up on your favorites, buy extra for friends, or just treat yourself! They even have a section for gifts under $10 this year. So if you want something unusual for the person who has everything or who doesn't go for the regular candy-type gifting, this is an option.

*Special Tip: Use coupon code: HOLIDAY2011 during checkout

Click Here to See their Superfoods and Gifts

Cheers and Happy Season even if you don't get many holidays…!

Posted in beautiful consumables, Nutrition, the role of retail | No Comments »

Oh, Water… how do I count the ways?

Friday, February 18th, 2011

As I now haunt the west coast of Canada, I constantly think that I have too much water in my life. This would be external water. What I am here to espouse is Internal water! Otherwise known as hydration.

I am still baffled by the amount of people I meet who still don't try for the Doctor (no less!) Recommended dose of 8-10 glasses per day. If a glass is 8oz… that's 2L of water! Yes, you unbelievers!… 2 litres, minimum.

Now I have been lucky enough to grow up in a place where water is abundant. As I listen to the stream outside my window, I do think about how I could possibly get enough water in the desert? Or does the body simply function differently? I often worry about walking around the planet Dune and having to use recycled bodily water for hydration. Have I simply been spoiled on water?

Well, those thoughts aside, water has helped me with:

PMS: water retention and bloating is caused by the body actually having too little water and having to store it.
Dry skin and lips, dry scalp
Sports, the muscles react better, faster and with less fatigue than if I have been lax in my water drinkage.
Constipation: a dehydrated colon is a common cause of bowel issues. (magnesium helps the colon absorb the water)
Tiredness: the body is made up of so much water, fluids is how almost every system in our body communicates (lymph, blood, digestive juices, intracellular fluid)
Headaches (mild-moderate): some say that the glass of water you take with your 'Advil' is actually what cures the headache.
Toxicity: soreness, tiredness, brain fog, joint problems, edema. Water can dilute and flush toxins out of the body.
Thirst (haha)

Some books claim that dehydration is the cause of almost every major disease out there. It's an extreme theory, but it doesn't hurt to try drinking water first, as it is the easiest and cheapest thing you can do for yourself (at least in my part of the world…) Watch your electrolyte balance if you Only drink water (especially if you are sweating) and try to include some juices, herbal teas or (as all the hot yoga places say) Emergen-C. Gatorade if you are desparate and in a sea of convenience stores instead of health food stores.

-what you are looking for is H20 with glucose, potassium, sodium and magnesium. (limes or Apple Cider Vinegar, sea salt, molasses/raw sugar/maple syrup)
I will endeaver to find a tasty homemade substitute as I can't find my notes right now!

Just remember, when in doubt, drink water!

Posted in beautiful consumables, Digestion, drink me!, Nutrition | No Comments »