 In the newspaper today, I came across an article about a survey the cancer council had done about eating vegetables. Reportedly 'cost and time' is preventing 'vegetable deprived Victorians' from consuming their 5 servings a day.
I am sorry but this is a load of garbage. How pathetic have people become? lets look at two of the claims.
A third of respondents said they would increase their vegetable intake if they had more time - more time to do what exactly? Shop, cook, eat? Clearly they are still eating and shopping as they must be buying and eating food other than vegetables. Is it no time to cook and prepare meals with vegetables? Is it more time consuming to use vegetables as opposed to grain, dairy and
 Its asparagus season here in southern Australia where I live, and I am not far from asparagus central being Koo Wee Rup. This week I got some in my veggie box and I was gifted 1.5kg of freshly picked spears, so I needed lots of inspiration to use this wonderful veggie - needless to say I am almost over it having had it in every dinner this week.
So how did I manage to use all my asparagus?? Well here goes!
Asparagus, mushroom and sweetcorn green curry (used asparagus instead of green beans)
Asparagus and pea risotto (adding the greens in the last 5 mins only)
Raw asparagus finely sliced into green salad
Steamed asparagus topped with butter, salt and pepper as a side dish
Asparagus finely sliced through scrambled eggs
Asparagus and zucchini slice
I think thats it!
 When we think of sugar, we think of sugar crystals, either in the white or brown form. Table sugar is called sucrose, which is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. Sugar is really a general term for simple carbohydrates that are sweet, they can be processed into crystals or syrups from a variety of plants, namely sugar cane, sugar beets and corn starch, and exist in many foods we eat, such as fruit, vegetables and dairy products.
You may have also heard of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which has been increasingly used in the food and drink industry since the early 1980s. HFCS is 45% glucose and 55% fructose. It is sweeter, cheaper to use than sugar; hence the food technology industry loves it. However, the process of creating HFCS involves genetically modified corn and is not a naturally occurring substance in corn, going through many conversions to get to the end result. Hence it is a highly processed product.
 Parsley belongs to the celery and carrot family and was held such high esteem to the ancient Greeks, that they adorned athletic victors with it.
Parsley is very high in the green pigment chlorophyll which is a detoxifier/chelator of heavy metals, and a deodoriser, masking the odour of other foods. Chewing on parsley after a pungent dish such as with garlic helps to freshen breath. It is also rich in the Vitamin A rich, yellow, carotene pigments such as zeathanthin is necessary for macular health in the eye.
Parsley is an excellent source of Vit A, K and C. It also contains Vit B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, Folic acid, Iron, Potassium, Zinc, Manganese, Magnesium and Calcium! The combination of high Vit C and Iron makes parsley an excellent source of non-haem iron for vegetarians, given Vit C increases the uptake of iron in the body.
 Dr Ann Wigmore _Ask juice experts and smoothie experts this question and they
will extol the virtues of their bias in a convincing fashion, enough
that you begin to go down either pathway with confidence. However, is one method better than the other? The main pro-juice argument is that the absence of fibre provides easy assimilation of
concentrated nutrients straight into the bloodstream with little
digestion required. The other side of this debate is that the presence
of fibre in smoothies is the unique selling point.
The late Dr. Ann Wigmore, a nutritional pioneer, advocated a diet that was 70 percent blended smoothies and 30 percent other living foods. She lived an extremely healthy and fit life, and reportedly had no grey hair. Best-selling author Steve Meyerowitz, “the sprout man.” teaches that consuming fresh juices conserves the body’s digestive energy, so more energy can be spent on healing. Interestingly Ann Wigmore said the very same thing. They both speak of pre-digestion and the provision of a high level of nutrition from their preferred drink.
 I discovered something fascinating this week. A condition called pine mouth, which is an adverse reaction to eating pine nuts.
During this past week, everything has just tasted weird. Apart from a headache I felt otherwise fine. I turned to good old Google for help. Typing 'everything tastes funny' came up with a plethora of information and lucky for me I clicked on a blog that detailed my EXACT symptoms. I had eaten pine nuts numerous times over New Years weekend in 3 different dishes so it made sense.
 _Coconut oil is a saturated fat which means that the fat molecule is has all possible links to its filled with hydrogen atoms. Animal fats from meat, eggs and dairy products are also saturated fats.
According to some sources, mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats are considered healthier than saturated. They say saturated fats are associated with weight gain, heart disease and raising bad cholesterol (LDL—low density lipoproteins). Other sources say its the opposite, with saturated animal fats being beneficial woth no link to heart disease and weight gain, suggesting its the predominance of high sugar and starchy carbohydrate that is to blame.
Coconut oil is not a source of bad cholesterol, in fact it helps to raise our good cholesterol levels (HDL– high density lipoproteins). Coconut oil is also a medium chain fat (versus the saturated fat from animals that are long chain fats). Because it is shorter it is digested and metabolised by the body quickly and efficiently into energy. In fact, coconut oil can actually aid weight loss because its fast metabolism helps raise our metabolism.
 _Chia seeds originate from the ancient Aztecs, where they were so revered they were used as currency.
Chia have the highest known plant source of omega 3 fats which are known as essential fatty acids (EFAs), meaning we need them to be supplied by our food. EFAs are essential for our nervous system and brain, our cardiovascular system, skin and also our joints. Chia has 8 x the omega 3 that salmon has.
Unlike flax/linseeds and fish which also contain these fats, chia is very stable due to its high antioxidant value. Ground flax seeds and flax oil must be kept strictly refrigerated and used very quickly (in 1-2 weeks) or it goes rancid. Chia has 4 x the antioxidant strength of blueberries and the black chia seeds will have more antioxidants than the white.
 _Quinoa & Amaranth are actually seeds that originate from ancient South American times. Quinoa originates from the Incas and Amaranth from the Aztecs. The seeds are extremely versatile and can be used as an alternative to rice in whole form and flakes can be used to make porridge. They also come puffed for breakfast cereal, can be sprouted, and also ground into flour.
Quinoa, pronounced ‘keen-wa’, comes in different varieties including:
-White is the mildest in flavour and the best multi-purpose quinoa
-Red is a slightly larger seed, having a stronger, nuttier flavour, great for soups and salads
-Black is smaller with a husk that stays firm with cooking, creating texture and providing fibre++
Amaranth is a tiny seed that apparently has different coloured varieties; however the light brown seeds are found commercially.
 _Spirulina, chlorella, AFA (Alphanizemenon Flos-Aquae) and MPP (Marine Phyto-Plankton) are all single cells organisms that have similar nutritional profiles with key differences.
They all boast a similar abundance of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, 60% or greater protein, all essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, RNA and DNA, and antioxidant pigments (namely chlorophyll). They also have reported immune boosting properties being anti-bacterial/fungal/viral in nature. In addition they are said to improve mental capacity, are cancer fighting, detoxifying, anti-inflammatory, blood building and are 90-100% able to be assimilated by the body.
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