by Chef Kendall Huff
Native Food Cafe
Inflammation is an evil little word that doesn’t even sound like anything good comes from it. And no, nothing does!! There are so many forms of this unpleasant little curse. It ranges any where from acute (short lasting like straining a muscle or a viral infection) to chronic (arthritis and heart disease). After the last Native Foods Demo on Hearth Disease and the Foods the Fight, I received LOADS of questions and emails about inflammation, so here we go!!
Like most people, I was once a frequent Aleve partaker. We were BFF’s if you will. We met regularly 2 to 3 times a day in a 4-dose take. That’s anywhere from 8 to 12 pills a day. YIKES! The bottle says its ok, but the side effects of that are another blog all together!! Instead of continuing with this pattern of destruction, I decided to do some research on what I could do and what I could eat instead of popping those blue “magic” pills.
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Now the Inflammation Diet is NOT going to shed pounds off of your body. I repeat, LOSING WEIGHT IS NOT THE POINT HERE!!! Each diet has a twist to it. For example, I can’t eat grapefruit or eggplant. It makes my muscles hurt. But that’s the fun part!! Keep a journal and figure out what works for your body! Eating to avoid inflammation is promoting better health for yourself and can in turn, ward off disease!
A majority of people today have a diet that includes too many Omega 6 Fatty’s (found in processed foods and fast food), and not enough of the Omega 3 Fatty’s. Also, the phytochemicals that are naturally found in plants reduce inflammation automatically!! Easy Money!! And don’t forget to exercise!! Get that blood flowing and that heart going!! Cardio 3 times a week for 15 to 20 minutes and you’ll feel great!!
The 7 Simple Guidelines to Roll with:
1- Eat plenty of fruits and veggies! Just when you think you ate enough for the day, have another apple and a stalk of celery!!
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2- Minimize (or eliminate) saturated fats and trans fats.
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3- Eat you Omega 3’s!! The easiest way to get that is by adding walnuts, Flax Seeds, Soybeans, tofu and tofu to your diet.
Double Your Flax with this Delicious Spreadable:
Walnut Flax Seed Hummus
1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
2 each cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup walnuts
1 TBSP Ground flaxseeds
1/4 cup water or chickpea cooking liquid
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp Ground cumin
1/4 tsp Paprika
**dash cayenne
- Toss the garlic into a running food processor, and process until thoroughly chopped.
- Add the walnuts, and process until they are in tiny pieces.
- Add the chickpeas, flaxseed, and 1/4 cup of water (or cooking liquid).
- Begin blending and add the lemon juice. Continue blending until the mixture is smooth, adding a little more liquid if necessary.
- Add the cumin, the paprika, and dash cayenne, and blend for another minute, and taste to check the seasonings. If needed, add more cumin and lemon juice.
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4- Watch your intake of refined carbs!!
*For example-Pasta noodles, white rice, pastries and breads
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5- Eat plenty of grains!!
*Bulgur, Wheat Berries, Couscous, Brown Rice, Millet, Quinoa, shall I go on??
6- Avoid refined and processed foods
7- Spice it up!! Ginger, Curry, Cayenne, Red Peppers, Turmeric and even Rosemary are just a few examples!!
White Bean and Red Pepper Bruschetta
Yield- 12 to 15 pieces (using a 6 inch Baguette)
1 cup White Beans (soaked overnight)
2 cups Water (Veg Stock)
1 each Bay Leaf
1 tsp Sea Salt
2 each Red Pepper (roasted)
2 cloves Roasted Garlic
¼ cup Olive Oil
2 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp Rosemary (fresh- chopped)
1 TBSP Chopped Parsley
½ TBSP Thyme
Sea Salt- To taste
Baguette (Or bread of your choosing)
- Place white beans, water/sock, bay leaf, salt in a small pot and cook on medium heat for 1 to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check occasionally
- Brush red pepper with olive oil and grill until outer skin chars and can be removed easily.
- Strain beans from water and allow to cool completely.
- Slice baguette into ¼ inch slices and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
- After peeling the skin off of the pepper, dice into ¼ in pieces.
- In a bowl, combine the beans, peppers, smashed roasted garlic cloves, vinegar, and all fresh herbs. Toss together and season to taste.
- Serve on toasty bread!
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**Check out these Books also!! Super helpful in your quest for an inflammation free life!!
The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book: Protect Yourself and Your Family from Heart Disease, Arthritis, Diabetes, Allergies - and More
By: Jessica K. Black
How to Reduce Everyday Pain and Inflammation in Your Body
By: Todd M. Cambio
Anti-inflammation diet, Native Foods Cafe, vegan food vegan restaurant, vegan recipes
Google, "Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, inflammation" It is the most incredible fast working (by day 4) inexpensive and HEALTHY thing you can do for your body. It has helped millions for centuries. 1 TBS Organic ACV (unpasteurized, with "The Mother" inside) and 2 TBS water. Shoot it with a water chaser. Do that twice a day and let it kick in (3-5 days) You can then drop back to once a day after a week or so. Amazing and your liver will thank you! Or Curcumin 500 mg works equally as well and will lower your cholesterol and is anti cancer. Curcumin is the active ingredient in Turmeric. It's freakin' amazing too.
Posted by: James | 02/29/2012 at 06:51 PM