No, You Shouldn't Order that Taco Salad: A Lesson in Food Combining

Allow me to introduce the Taco Salad:

Yes, Taco Salad may look darn tasty but did you know that it may actually be wreaking havoc on your digestive system and contributing to that lower abdominal bulge?  Yes, sorry to say, Taco Salad is a food combination nightmare!

Proper food combining is the technique of placing together certain food groups for maximum digestion that allows the foods to be broken up as quickly as possible so that they can make a speedy exit through your system and not sit in your bowels, fermenting for days.  Fermentation of lingering food not only causes you to be uncomfortable (think bloating, flatulence and constipation) but it also feeds that annoying Candida and contributes to its overgrowth in the body.

I know this all seems very bleak, but there is some good news here! Food combining is actually incredibly, astronomically, magnificently EASY!  It all boils down to this simple rule: flesh with vegetables or starch with vegetables.  Since Taco Salad combines ground beef (flesh) with refried beans (starch) and rice (starch) and vegetables it is not proper food combining (see previous paragraph).


So, if you want a chicken breast (flesh) you can enjoy it with steamed broccoli and a mixed greens salad (vegetables).  Or, if you happen to feel like a pizza (starch), you can enjoy it with all the vegetable toppings you'd like, you just have to hold the meat.  You see, when meat and starch are present at the same meal they will bind to each other and slow both of their passage through your GI tract, contributing to your feeling of abdominal discomfort.  But when they are kept well away from each other, things will continue along swimmingly.  Please note though, that cow dairy is bad no matter which way you combine it so you're best giving it up in favor of a non-dairy alternative (click here to see my almond mylk recipe).  Fruit should always be eaten on its own, far away from meals (first thing in the morning is best).

Here is a handy chart to give you a basic understanding:

Flesh	Starches	Neutral
Organic Chicken breast	Baked Sweet potato	All raw vegetables
Organic Fish/seafood	Baked squashes (butternut, acorn, spaghetti)	All cooked vegetables (that are not starches)
Organic, cage-free eggs	Baked Yams	Lemons
Grass-fed, hormone-free, organic meat	Millet, Quinoa or Buckwheat (all GF)	Himalayan Rock Salt
	Avocados	Almond Milk
	Beans	Raw Chocolate

So, you can choose either a flesh or a starch and combine them with any neutral ingredients to make up a meal that leaves both your stomach and your waist-line happy!

Happy combining!

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Raw Foods

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a modality used by Naturopathic Doctors in clinical practice.  It combines acupuncture, herbs and nutrition to bring balance to individual patients and thus expel disease (which is said to be caused by an imbalance).

TCM has often promoted the idea of cooked foods and often links eating too many raw foods to certain disease patterns.  Because I study TCM, I was always fascinated with this take on the raw foods diet, considering I found raw foods to be the only protocol that was able to bring about healing in my life.

My professor at school informed us that the reason a predominately raw food diet is not preferred is because the foods carry so much water and 'cold' in them, they are often hard on the Spleen and Stomach TCM systems that need to digest them.  Cooking was seen to pre-digest the food and allow the Spleen and Stomach an easier task.

That being said, I took this information to another TCM practitioner (who happens to be a raw foodist) and asked their opinion on this topic.  The TCM practitioner agreed that most raw foods are 'cold' for the body, but he also rationalized that they can be easily warmed with certain herbs and spices.  For example, adding freshly squeezed ginger to your juices and sprinkling cinnamon in your smoothies and desserts. Another option is adding cayenne, black pepper or turmeric to your entrees. These spices 'warm' the food without cooking it and make it suitable from a TCM standpoint for your Spleen and Stomach.

That being said, the best scenario I found in the winter is to eat raw foods for breakfast, lunch and snacks and then to come home and enjoy a nice cooked dinner.  Just because you eat raw foods for health doesn't mean you have to be 100% all the time.  In the summer it may be easy to be 100% raw, but in the winter you may need to make adjustments.  Just listen to your body and you can never go wrong!

Have a wonderful day!

The Most Colourful Salad

I look forward to my weekly excursions to 4 Life Natural Foods in Kensington Market.  After much shopping around, I have come to realize that this place has the best tasting greens in the city.  And, of course, everything is organic.

After I came home from buying it, I couldn't remember the name of Radicchio at first but thanks to this incredible post on Epicurious, I was able to identify it!

Colourful Salad

• radicchio
• romain lettuce
• cucumber
• grape tomatoes
• hemp seeds
• dulse flakes
• a sweet vinaigrette to balance out  the bitter, salty flavours of the salad

Thai Carrot Coconut Soup (from Uncooking with Raw Rose)

I found that this soup actually tastes a bit better after sitting in the fridge for 24 hours.  I think it has to do with all the flavours being allowed to mingle together.

• 1 cup water (can be warm or cold)
• 1 1/2 cups carrots (cut in 2" chunks)
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley 
• 1 green onion
• 1/4 of a lemon (peeled)
• 3 tablespoons dried, unsweetened, shredded coconut
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, diced
• 1/2 tsp himalayan salt
• 1 avocado (diced, for topping)
• 1 tsp hemp seeds (for topping)

Blend all the ingredients, except avocado, in a high speed blender.  Pour into a bowl.  Top with hemp seeds and avocado.  Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

 Spooky gloves that I get to wear all night long

Gummy eyes make excellent distractions during lecture

 An asparagus, complete with a pat of butter

A tornado, with tiny farm animals dangling everywhere

The best thing about Halloween, other than the fantastic costumes and scary movies, has to be the treats. Don't think I was left out, just because I'm raw-I managed to whip up the most amazing raw cheesecake. No tricks here, this one is all treat.  Please note you need to soak your cashews for 3 hours prior and the recipe below makes a 4" pie, so triple the recipe if you want to make a 9".

Raw Boo-berry Cheesecake

Crust ingredients:

1/2 cups raw pecans

3 medjool dates
1 tbsp dried, unsweetened coconut
sprinkle of Himalayan salt

Cheesecake filling ingredients:

1 cup cashews (soaked for 3 hours in filtered water)
1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla

Fruit topping ingredients:

1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 medjool dates

How to make this raw cheesecake recipe…

1. Throw the pecans and dates into your food processor. (Don’t add the coconut!!) Process nuts and dates until well processed but still airy.

2. Next, get our your springform cheesecake pan and sprinkle the coconut on the bottom as your very first layer. This makes it easier to remove the cheesecake as the coconut stops the crust from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Then press the pecans and dates down into the pan to form the crust.

3. Throw all cheesecake filling ingredients into your high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour it over the crust and smooth it out.

4. Place the above in freezer for an hour or so (so that it will firm up).

5. Meanwhile, throw your blueberries and dates in your high-speed blender. Blend until nice and smooth. Pour this mixture on top of the crust/cheesecake, which was just in the freezer for about an hour. Put back in the freezer for another hour.

6. Defrost this raw cheesecake recipe on the counter for about 30 minutes before digging in. Enjoy!

Spicing Things Up...

After making the Cucumber Basil Lime Juice the other day and tasting how refreshing adding some herbs to fresh juice could be, I decided to see if spices would work just as well.

The difference between an herb and a spice is that basically an herb is the part of the plant that is above ground (like the leaves) and a spice is made from the more hearty parts of the plant (roots, bark, seeds).  Spices also have a much more concentrated flavour, so you need a lot less of them to get that punch.  I learnt this recipe from Natalia Rose, a famous holistic nutritionist from NYC and it has been a real hit in my morning repertoire!

Pumpkin Pie In a Glass


1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
8 ounces of freshly squeezed carrot juice (I usually use 2 kg of organic carrots for this)


Put your spices in the bottom of a glass and mix them together.  Juice your carrots directly into the glass, stirring the mixture as you go until the glass is full of orange goodness.  Enjoy immediately. 

This juice packs a ton of beta-carotene, which is converted into Vitamin A in your body and helps support your skin.  Since your skin is your first line of defence against pathogens, adding this delicious juice to your diet will keep you healthy (and gorgeous) this winter!

Happy Autumn!

Enjoy your day!

How 'bout them apples?

It's apple season in Ontario!

M's parents are so sweet; they are always bringing up fresh produce from the fruit belt when they come to visit.  This time they brought 2 different apple varieties: one of which is Cortland (the other has slipped my mind).

I was amazed at how wonderful they smell when they are fresh; the entire kitchen was swimming in this sweet, crisp smell of apples when I got home.  I was also very appreciative that these apples did not have that wax coating that you tend to find in the store-bought varieties, even if you buy organic.

I haven't really had time to make anything fancy out of them and have just been eating them plain or adding them to my favorite juice combo; carrot-ginger-apple.  For all you people who may be coming down with a bug, the kick of fresh ginger in your juices can help you warm up and expel any of the congestion your body may have.

Still studying for Midterms, but took a quick break to find this cute lil guy in the pet store for some puppy therapy:

Have a great day!

Being a Carrot is Rough

Studying for midterms, so I may be posting less frequently for the next few weeks.

Found this video from one of my favorite youtube channels (ironically, as I was drinking carrot juice this morning)

Enjoy!

Glorious GOOP

I never thought I'd say this, but...

Mad props to Gwyneth Paltrow


While searching for recipe ideas online, I discovered the personal website of Ms. Paltrow and learnt the following:

• she is a foodie (read: she loves good food)
• she practices a macrobiotic diet
• she practices detoxification
• she can throw together a superb tasting _______ (insert any healthy dish idea here)

Whenever a celebrity branches out into some other career or hobby, I am always extremely cautious.  It seems like everyone wants to diversify and most of them do, regardless if they are actually talented or not.

After making The Cucumber, Basil and Lime Juice from her Detox Newsletter, I am convinced that when it comes to food preparation and enjoyment, Gwyneth Paltrow is certainly qualified.  As you can see from the picture, I enjoyed almost an entire pilsner glass (M got them free from the Amsterdam Brewery) of this magical juice this morning and I was gastronomically blown away--so much so that I needed to post about it a.s.a.p.

Here is the phenomenal juice recipe I made this morning:

1. a handful of fresh basil (I buy the PC brand basil in the little plastic containers when my own basil has been overgrazed and I found this was the perfect amount)
2. 1 and a half organic cucumbers (depending on size and variety, this can be increased to add more volume to your juice, should you want to enjoy more)
3. half a lime that has been peeled of the zest (green stuff) but try to leave on as much pith (white stuff) as possible
4. 1 organic green apple, with the seeds removed

Juice all of the above ingredients in the order that they appear.  Give the mixture a quick stir with a chopstick and prepare for the tangy explosion of deliciousness that is about to rock your taste buds.

Enjoy!

Keep It Simple, Salad!

When I first became a vegan, I hated salads.  Of course, the salads I was thinking of were the ones with iceberg lettuce and a single sliver of a sad, pale tomato.

My, how times have changed.


These days, my go-to meal is a salad.  Salads usually make an appearance as my lunches and as the first course of my dinners.  A colleague recently commented that although he always sees me eating a salad at lunch, no two salads are ever the same.  Variety is the key to enjoying salads and I've got a list of ingredients for you to mix and match in creating your perfect salad:

• hemp seeds
• dulse flakes
• cherry tomatoes
• mixed greens
• romaine lettuce
• basil leaves
• spinach leaves
• red/yellow/green peppers
• apple slices
• pear slices
• avocado
• mandarin orange slices
• cucumbers
• grated carrots
• grated beets
• candied or raw nuts (almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts etc.)

Any combination (or all) of the above ingredients tossed with an oil and vinegar dressing can make a quick and easy meal that is so not your everyday, boring salad.

Enjoy!

Magical Morning Smoothies

One of the first things I noticed about student life at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine was how incredibly important the Morning Smoothie was to the average student. Every day I would witness my colleagues shuffle in to the first class of the day with matching Magic Bullet cups that contained different blended concoctions of fruits and vegetables.

For the first time in my life, everyone around me was forgoing the Egg McMuffin in favour of a fiber packed, nutrient dense super drink that could be easily whipped up at home, in the time it takes to say "I knew I shouldn't have hit the darn snooze button again". And why not? Everyone knows the benefits of a healthy breakfast as it sets the tone for the rest of the day.

Although I'm no expert, it occurred to me that I may know some great smoothie recipes since I enjoy one nearly every day. Pictured above is one of my favorite "Green Smoothie" recipes that can be found below:

1 handful of fresh spinach leaves (about 1 cup, loosely packed)

1 frozen banana, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1 tbsp peanut butter (can also use almond butter, tahini, cashew butter)

1 cup almond milk (may need a little more depending on desired consistency)

1 scoop Vega protein powder (or 2 tbsp Hemp protein)

1/2 tsp Spirulina powder

1 tsp Udo's 3-6-9 Oil blend

1 tsp raw honey (optional, depending on how sweet you like your smoothies)

Blend the almond milk and spinach in a hand held blender (I use my Magic Bullet) until there are no whole spinach leaves, as nothing is worse than getting a huge mouthful of raw spinach when you first dig into your smoothie. Add all remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Enjoy immediately or save for the morning commute.

Note that the above recipe is very easy to change. For example, kale or broccoli instead of spinach, mango or fresh strawberries in place of frozen blueberries-let your imagination run wild with this and your taste buds will thank you!