Food and Recipes

October 17, 2014 In Food, Food and Recipes, Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Lisa Virtue

Eat Like a Caveman: The Paleo Diet

We live in an era of information overload, especially surrounding nutrition. I personally have been overwhelmed and confused about food for most of my life. At times I thought I had the answer, after having followed a certain diet for months and months, only to be defeated by feeling sick and malnourished. I’ve tried The South Beach Diet, the vegan Thrive Diet, a basic whole foods organic diet, and a raw fruitarian-vegan diet After feeling highly unstable on my six month fruit kick, I began following a Paleo diet. Though it is just about the fourth month in, I can say that...

October 17, 2014 In Food and Recipes, News, Spotlight, Uncategorized By Lisa Virtue

Hemp Milk Does a Body Good

If you’re looking for a creamy, rich and delicious drink, filled with protein and healthy fats, look no further. Hemp milk may be your tasty answer. Hemp seeds contain all 8 of the essential amino acids, making it a pretty great protein source. Just half a cup of hemp seeds offers 44 grams of protein, (that’s 11 grams of protein per ounce) and 640 calories. Another amazing fact about this glorious seed, is that it is perfectly balanced in essential fats. Humans need both omega-6 and omega-3 fats in order to function at our best. The ideal ratio is thought to...

October 16, 2014 In Food, Food and Recipes, Green & Healthy Living, News By Vancouver Health Coach

Allergies and Food Introduction

Digestion and the immune system: How delaying food introduction can prevent allergies + eczema in your child Allergies are the 3rd most common chronic disease among children, and eczema is present in over 10% of kids. This epidemic of atopy, a person’s predisposition to developing allergic symptoms has caused health care practitioners to look beneath the skin for solutions for our children. Starting in infancy, parents can prevent the development of allergies and eczema in their child. Pregnancy During pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, mom’s should avoid foods that are highly allergenic (eggs, peanuts, cow’s milk), and any other foods...

October 15, 2014 In Food and Recipes, News, Spotlight By Lisa Virtue

Nut-Milk for Heart Health and Diabetes

Did you know that nuts and seeds can protect your heart? They contain arginine, an amino acid that helps improve blood flow. (Which could also prove useful on date night, wink wink.) Studies have shown that when nuts (or nut milk) were substituted for an equal amount of carbohydrate in participants’ diets, heart disease risk dropped by 30%. Another study on cholesterol found that compared to a low-fat diet recommended by the American Heart Association, the addition of a handful of pecans a day greatly improved cholesterol and blood triglyceride levels, while low-fat dieters continued to suffer. The risk of type 2 diabetes...

October 11, 2014 In Food and Recipes, Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Enzymes: You Are What You Digest

The raw food diet is a diet of fresh, whole food that has not been refined, chemically processed, denatured, or heated above 118°F, so its nutritional content is preserved, including the living enzymes. Enzymes are functional proteins essential to all living things that act as catalysts for numerous chemical reactions including digestion. As Chief Nutrition Officer of Hail Merry, a company dedicated to making the healthiest and best tasting plant based snacks, Dr. Claudia Pillow is on a mission to demystify the concept of living enzymes in raw food and separate myth from fact. Below is a reprint of an...

October 10, 2014 In Food and Recipes, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Gluten-Free and Vegan Pizza Crust

Dear Gluten-Free Fans, what are you craving? Sometimes I just want a pizza and beer! TGIF! And good news, now we can have our pie and eat it too! Plus, the gluten-free beers on the market keep getting better and better (yes, most regular beer is made from barley hops and contains gluten). I love this easy to make pizza crust for the crispness, the omega-3 fatty acids, and the normalcy of sharing a gluten-free pizza and beer with loved ones on a Friday night. N4AO- kids will happily eat it up but hold the beer. Vegan or Gluten Intolerant?...

October 10, 2014 In Food and Recipes, News By Crystal Di Domizio

Quinoa: The Super Grain

In an effort to eat a healthier diet, most people turn to brown rice as a substitute for white rice. If you’re ready to explore and expand your options beyond brown rice quinoa is a very valuable addition to your diet. Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa”) hails its super grain status from its rich nutritional content. Grown for thousands of years in the South American Andes it was called “the mother grain” by the Incas. Although commonly referred to as a grain, pseudo grains such as quinoa are actually seeds with grain-like qualities. There are hundreds of varieties of quinoa, ranging in color...

October 10, 2014 In Food and Recipes, News By Vancouver Health Coach

What’s All the Fuss About Trans Fats?

Fat is a major source of energy for the body and aids in the absorption of vitamins A, D, E, and K and carotenoids. Both animal and plant-derived food products contain fat, and when eaten in moderation, fat is important for proper growth, development, and maintenance of good health. As a food ingredient, fat provides taste, consistency, and stability and helps us feel full. In addition, parents should be aware that fats are especially important source of calories and nutrients for infants and toddlers, who have the highest energy needs per unit of body weight of any age group. Trans fat...

October 9, 2014 In Food, Food and Recipes, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

A Diet for Balancing Pitta

The diet to balance pitta corresponds to the many of the so-called “balanced” diets out there, such as the Mediterranean or Indo-Mediterranean diet, that display a mostly balanced ratio of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. In Ayurveda this diet is good for people that have an average metabolism, neither very fast nor slow, providing a balanced source of energy. In particular, this diet is good for people that have a hot temperament, and tend to get warm easily. Some of the recommendations of this diet are contraindicated for people suffering from excessive coldness. Pitta-reducing diet A pitta-reducing diet is predominant in sweet,...

October 8, 2014 In Food and Recipes, Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Spring Cleaning Means Clean Eating

As you may know, our diet should rotate with the season. Summer is the the time for light, refreshing food, while Autumn is the time for nourishing root vegetables. Winter becomes the best time for hearty stews, meats and breads. We are now in full swing of Spring, the best time for cleaning and clean eating. How can we clean up our diet? What are some foods we should be consuming more often during these warming months? I will discuss in detail a few important changes that are necessary for this time of year. Hydration: We should always be drinking enough...