DOCTORS EXPLAIN HOW HIKING ACTUALLY CHANGES OUR BRAINS

Recipe of the day - Sweet Potato Muffins

Sweet Potato Muffins 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups cooked sweet potatoes

3/4 cup soy milk

1 1/2 cup wholewheat flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 pinch of salt

2 tbs pumpkin seeds

2 tbs sunflower seeds

Garnish with coconut flakes

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven on 200 degrees C        
2. Mix cooked sweet potatoes and soy milk together in food processor

3. Mix all dry ingredients together (wholewheat flour, baking powder,                          
    cinnamon, sugar, salt, sunflower and pumpkin seeds)

4. Mix sweet potato mix and vanilla extract with dry ingredients)

5. Divide batter evenly between muffin tins (should be enough for between 11-12)
6. Garnish with coconut flakes
7. Bake for 30 minutes     

How the Dairy Industry Has Unnaturally Altered the Life of Cows

 http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/how-the-dairy-industry-has-unnaturally-altered-the-life-of-cows/

Recipe of the day - Chinese Green Bean Corn Pasta

Chinese Green Bean Corn Pasta

Ingredients:

1 cup cut green beans

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cups fresh corn kernels 

Hand full chopped purple cabbage

1 chopped tomato

3 tablespoons flax seed

1/2 Himalayan teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup vegetable stock

Chinese pasta

Preparation:

1. Cook pasta in boiling water 10 minutes
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. 
3. Add corn, green beans, cabbage and onions and sauté 8 minutes
4. Add tomato and flax seed, salt, and black pepper
5. Add vegetable stock and shimmer for 10 minutes
6. Remove from heat
7. Stir in pasta and sprinkle with spring onion

Flax Seed:

You can add flax seed to your: Cereals, Smoothies, Salads, Soups, Casseroles & Stews and any baked goods.

It contains:

• Omega 3 acids (1 tbs contains 1.8 grams of plant omega 3's)
• Fiber (Soluble and insoluble type)
• Phytochemicals

Gandhi once said

 “wherever flax seed becomes a regular food item among people, there will be better health.”

Recipe of the day - Peanut butter ginger chickpea stew

Peanut butter ginger chickpea stew

Ingredients:

1 cup soy milk

3 tbs peanut butter

1 can chickpeas

1 cup hot water

2 diced tomatoes

2 diced carrots
2 diced patatoes

2 tsp fresh ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Himalayan salt 

Quinoa 

Preparation:
1. Mix the peanut butter and the soy milk together over low heat till peanut butter is melted
2. Fry carrots, patatoes and tomatoes over low heat for few minutes
3. Add chickpeas
4. Add hot water
5. Add rest of herbs and spices (ginger, cinnamon and cayenne pepper)
6. Add peanut butter soy milk mixture and shimmer for 10 minutes
7. Add Himalayan salt to own personal taste

I only use Himalayan salt in my cooking, the reason, Himalayan salt is the purest type of salt and is made of the same components as table salt,  but the crystal structure is larger than normal table salt, and by volume Himalayan have less sodium per 1/4 t. serving, just because the sea salt crystals take up less room on a teaspoon than highly refined tiny table salt. 

Himalayan salt have a few benefits:

• Create an electrolyte balance
• Increases hydration
• Regulate water content both inside and outside of cells
• Balance pH  and help to reduce acid reflux
• Prevent muscle cramping
• Aid in proper metabolism functioning
• Strengthen bones
• Lower blood pressure
• Help to absorb nutrients
• Prevent goiters
• Improve circulation
• Dissolve and eliminate sediment to remove toxins

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Recipe of the day - Broccoli Apple Salad

Broccoli Apple Salad

I try to make my lunch my main dinner for the day, so in the evening I try to eat something light like a salad.

Ingredients:

1 head broccoli

2 hands full of purple cabbage

2 green apples

3 tbs sunflower seeds

2 tbs flax seeds

3 tbs vegetarian mayonnaise 

Preparation:

1. Cook broccoli just a little, it still need to be crunchy

2. Cut the raw cabbage in thin slices

3. Cut apples in blocks, you can leave skin on or take it off

4. Mix with seeds and mayonnaise

5. Serve with bean and rice salad, and asparagus if you want to eat more than just the salad

I use the B-Well Canola Mayonnaise. I like the taste it is not as sour as the rest of the Mayonnaise we get in the stores and they a bit healthier than other Mayonnaise.

• Approved by the heart foundation
• Consist of all Omega 3 oils
• Its dairy, eggs and gluten free (great alternative for vegans)

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Recipe of the day - Spicy vegetarian bean and corn stew

Spicy vegetarian bean and corn stew

I took all the last bits and pieces of food from my fridge, to make this stew.
I don't like to go shopping if i haven't finished all fresh goods in my fridge. I don't believe in wasting.

Ingredients:

1 Egg plant
1 Onion
1 Green Pepper
2 Tomatoes
7 Peppadews
3 tsp crushed garlic
2 cups cooked kidney beans
1 cup cooked corn
1 squeezed lemon
Vegetable stock
Salt
Black pepper
Oregano
1 Cup brown wild rice

Preparation:

I do bulk cooking over weekends like my beans, corn and chickpeas. It really freeze well and it saves me a lot of time.So the day i want to use it I just take it out the morning from the fridge and defrost it during the day. When I do my cooking I just add it the last 5 minutes.

1. Start to cook your wild rice and spice after your own personal taste
2. Cut all your ingredients and start to fry it all together (Egg plant, Onion, Green pepper, tomatoes and peppadews)
3. Add your garlic
4. Add your vegetable stock and lemon
5. Add Salt, black pepper and salt to own personal taste
6. Add your beans and corn and shimmer for 5 minutes
7. Serve with brown wild rice

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Plant based diet and protein

Plant protein vs Animal protein

Many questions arise when following a plant based diet. If someone tells you I need protein,that's why i eat meat, well they are quite misinformed. When a meat-free diet is done correctly it offers tremendous awards.

Animal products like meat, eggs, fish and diary consist of all the essential amino acids that we need, but with in that goody bag we get saturated fat, cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes 2, allergies and so many more. Consuming to many proteins turns into waste and fat, and leads to gain weight.

The average person needs to get a intake of .8mg of protein per kg. Eating a plant based diet is 100% sufficient in getting all the protein you need. For me personally protein is the last thing I will measure in my nutritional intake, unless if you are an athlete building muscles, and even so, muscle building can also be done on a plant based diet. If you consume legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grain fruit and vegetables daily, you will get more protein that you need.

Your Plant based goodie bag not only consist of sufficient protein, but also fiber, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and a lighter body mass. Soy, Quinoa, buckwheat, chia and hemp seeds are all plant sources where you can get all your complete amino acids. The rest of plant sources lack at least one essential amino acid, so you must combine them in such a way that, together they supply all the essential amino acids you need. For example, eating whole grains with legumes or nuts provides the full complement of amino acids that can help you prevent muscle wasting and other symptoms of protein deficiency.


Daily intake of protein:

• Babies 10 grams a day
• Kids 9-34 grams a day
• Teenage boys 52 grams a day
• Teenage girls 46 grams a day
• Adult men 56 grams a day
• Adult women 46 grams a day
• Pregnant and breastfeeding woman 71 grams a day

The past few years the number of people practicing a plant based lifestyle have increased significantly. Not only is this type of lifestyle recognized as nutrition sufficient, it also reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. I quote Dr.T.Collin Cambell from his work the China Study, one of the most comprehensive studies on nutrition to this day.

The studies have been done and the research is evident. My next post will be on Calcium in our diets.

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Every one should invest in a whole food plant based lifestyle

Investing in a whole food plant based diet

Every year we start of with new and exciting changes and challenges. This year i also started with my own challenge, one that can change my whole life and one that i can be proud off, by following a whole food plant based diet.

I don't like the word diet. Diet is a short term goal. I have never given any thought to any diets before in my life. I have been blessed with good genes, so I always ate what ever i like whenever i like. (and being tall and active helps a lot). A whole food plant based diet, is not just one of the so many diets out there, it is a life style, and a good, healthy life style.

Unfortunatly we get older and we get surrounded by sick people always on medications. I started doing my own research to prevent being one of those people always on chronic medication. My whole life i have been struggling with sinuses, hi-fever and food allergies, and by cutting out some foods i could see how my life have improved, so im sure it will prevent and heal other types of illnesses, just by monitoring what we put in our mouths.

I have adopted this type of healthy lifestyle and it is going well. Im not as tired after school anymore and don't need my 9 hours sleep. I also got my partner into my new style of living and he is just as excited as i am. We still have a long way to go and lots to learn, but i know this is the answer for a long healthy life for us, our enviroment and all animals.

Converting to this type of life style, got lots of people talking. Everyone suddenly are experts on food nutrition. We will be nutrition deficient and unhealthy, but when i was eating animal products, prossesed and sweetened foods nobody cared. It is a bit frustrating to argue with people that do not bother to educate themselfs. I urge everyone to go and start doing the research, and try to incorporate this type of lifestyle. You not only doing this for you, but for your enviroment and all living animals on this planet.

My next post will be on plant and animal protein, cause this is the first thing everyone always look at and ask "how will u get all your protein on a plant based diet?"

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