Health Benefits of Carrots

Peaceful Carrot

Carrots are touted for their benefits for the eyes.  There is more to a carrot than meets the eyes! Carrots are high in Vitamin A and can provide you 408% of your daily needs in just 1 cup (about 1 large carrot).  But wait..there's more! So peace out, eat a carrot :)

Carrots also:

• provide Vitamin K
• provide 14% of your daily fiber needs
• 12% of Vitamin C (healing nutrient and disease prevention)
• 11% of your daily calcium needs (good for those vegans)
• 11% of your daily potassium needs (good for nerve conduction)
• Kills harmful bacteria in the mouth, thereby preventing tooth decay!
• has been shown to inhibit colon cancer
• High in antioxidants
• Improve cardiovascular health (potassium in the carrot helps regulate sodium levels in blood)
• great for the skin (and yes, the eyes)

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-reasons-to-eat-more-carrots.html (site source)

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=21 (site source)

End of Summer Chowder

Most chowders are high in fat.  This one has none! This soup is made vegan, although if you want to, you can use stock instead of water (we don't think it's necessary). 

Take advantage of all the delicious veggies at the farmers market (or in your garden) right now.  Soups freeze very well.  We freeze ours in plastic quart containers for easy meals when we don't feel like cooking.  This will provide you with healthy options, instead of grabbing take-out.  So-go ahead, make a big pot right now :) all of the ingredients listed can easily be swapped out for other you have on hand.  

Ingredients:

2 quarts of corn kernels from about 10 ears of corn: if using frozen use 8 cups

6 cobs of corn (after kernels have been removed)-if using frozen corn, it's fine to omit this 

3 sweet potatoes  skinned & chopped (about 3 cups)

4 cups of cubed eggplant (skin removed)

2-3 cups of cabbage 

4 cups onions
3/4 cup banana peppers

2 tbsp garlic chopped

12 cups of water

2 tsp dried thyme or 2 tbsp fresh thyme

1 cup of fresh basil chopped (can be replaced with parsley)

1 1/2 tsp salt

Pepper to taste

Directions:

Place all ingredients into pot

Bring to a boil, then simmer

Remove cobs

After Soup Was Puréed

Purée using a stick blender or by placing 1/2 of the soup into a blender.  This will make the soup creamy.  

For a creamier soup, you can add milk at the end (around 2 cups)

This recipe makes a large soup pot full.  This recipe is easily halved. 

Nutritional Benefits:

No fat

High in fiber

Cabbage: cruciferours vegetable which has been linked to preventing many cancers, antioxidant, and high in fiber

Sweet Potatoes: high in beta-carotene a vitamin A component which is an anti-oxidant and aids in healing, promoting tissue/cell repair

Eggplant: lessens free radiacals in the body (reducing cancer causinf agents), helps to lower bad cholesterol in the body, anti-oxidant, high in fiber
Peppers: high in Vitamin c, an anti-oxidant that helps fight infection

*note: this soup is higher in carbohydrates due to the corn.  If you are a diabetic, limit your servings.  The benefit however, is that this is a high fiber soup, which will take time for the body to process and breakdown, unlike other simple forms of carbohydrates.

www.altmandental.com

Quinoa Coconut Cookies

Quinoa Power Cookies: makes 18 small cookies

Looking for a healthy cookie you could actually give to the kids in the morning? No added sugar, full of protein and fiber! 3 cookies = 180 calories, 4g protein, 6 g fiber, 6g fat plus lots of vitamins!

Ingredients:

2 bananas

1 cup cooked quinoa (click here for directions on how to cook quinoa)

1/3 c rolled oats (we use organic whole oats)

1 c unsweetened reduced fat coconut flakes

1/4 c unsweetened dried tart cherries
1 tbsp cacoa powder (unsweetened/raw)
1 tsp cinnamon (heaping)
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

-Mix together above ingredients

-Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until slightly browned and cookies hold together (we bake our on a silpat to prevent sticking)
Before Baking:

After Baking (cookies don't spread):

T

These are the products we used in our cookies.  

They can be found in the organic section of most grocery stores.

*this recipe can be altered by the following:

-use other dried fruits such as cranberries, apricots, or raisins (these add sugar)

-chocolate chips or carob chips (the chocolate chips add sugar) can replace dried fruit

-chopped almonds can be added
-to decrease fat, replace dried coconut with more oats. Increase oats to 3/4-1 c oats depending on consistency
-can add 2 tbsp raw honey if recipe isn't sweet enough

Power Foods:
Bananas are high in Potassium which aids in blood pressure monitoring, muscle contraction, and keeps cholesterol levels in check.
Cacao powder: high in iron, magnesium, and antioxidants.  In its raw form the true benefits of cacao can be realized (vs. processed cocoa powder created under high heat where vitamins are damaged)
Oats: High in fiber, protein (yes they have a lot of protein!), and are a complex carbohydrate, which allows more time for the body to digest, keeping blood sugar levels from spiking
Quinoa: an ancient grain high  in protein and fiber.  Quinoa is gluten free
Tart Cherries: anti-inflammatory, be sure to get unsweetened (we dry our own when in season)

Nutrition Facts in each cookie (estimated)-if coconut was omitted calories/fat would be reduced
-60 calories
-2 g fiber
-1.2 g protein
-9 g carbohydrates
-2 g fat

Grilled Broccoli

Broccoli-fresh from the garden. Amazing on the grill! Lightly drizzle w/evoo, sprinkle w/salt and fresh pepper. Place directly on grill until just slightly cooked (don’t over cook or you cook out nutritional benefits). Amazing! 
Health benefits of broccoli: high in vitamin A and K, broccoli can aid in absorption of vitamin D, and is anti-inflammatory.
www.altmandental.com

Mint Cucumber Smoothie-reducing inflammation

*adapted from organicbeautytalk.com with additional information from www.whfoods.com

Benefits of Mint: Energize your skin from the inside out with soothing peppermint leaves. Overflowing with vitamins A and C, these powerful antioxidants fight inflammation. Mint is great for your breath. Plus it’s great to calm upset stomachs and headaches. Last but not least, B vitamins folate and riboflavin which aid in blood circulation, and thereby promote healing.

Benefits of Cucumbers: Cucumbers are a valuable source of conventional antioxidant nutrients including vitamin C, beta-carotene, and manganese. Cucumbers also decrease inflammation  which is great for swelling issues in the mouth. They also contain lignans, a compound which helps fight certain cancers, namely estrogen-induced cancers.

Mint Cucumber Smoothie Directions:
Fill blender with…

• 8 oz coconut water
• 1-2 handfuls organic spinach (or other green such as kale)
• 5-6 small organic mint leaves
• ½ cucumber peeled & sliced
• ½ cup frozen green grapes
• ¼ avocado
• squeeze of fresh lime
• *you can add a sweetener, but we feel the grapes add enough

Vegan stir fry

Vegan stir fry: use all those fresh in-season veggies! Use organic if possible-but go local and fresh!

1) Container of organic tofu-we used silken firm for this, but others work fine

2) 2 cups of zucchini

3) 1 cup fresh green beans

4) 1 cup fresh broccoli 

5) 1 onion<br/>

6) 2 c beets greens (or any greens you have on hand)

7) 2 cloves garlic 

8) 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

9) sesame oil, soy sauce, and brown rice vinegar (or regular rice vinegar) to taste

10) siracha-to taste

-sauté onion in a little sesame oil

-add tofu and zucchini 

-splash in vinegar (around 1 tbsp) and soy sauce to taste (around 2 tbsps)

-add remaining veggies, ginger, &amp; garlic until just cooked (greens wilt and broccoli becomes vibrant green) 

-add siracha to taste (if wanted) 

-serve on top of brown rice or organic buckwheat noodles

*stir- fry is a fast &amp; easy dinner. This recipe can incorporate any in-season vegetable assortment. Enjoy!

*Nutritional information: Tofu is high in protein and a great vegetarian food for healing and repairing. Broccoli, greens, and green beans are high in calcium and Vitamin A- both essential for health bone and teeth formation and the healing of wounds. Ginger and garlic stimulate blood circulation which will aid in healing and overall wellness. They are also known to fight infection and ward off bacteria. http://www.altmandental.com

Recipe: Greens and Beans

Greens and Beans-looking for an easy dinner? This one was thrown together in a flash.  

Place the following into a bowl per person:

• Bowl full of fresh organic greens (kale was used in this bowl)
• 1/2 small organic (in season) tomato
• 1/2-3/4 c of organic chick peas/garbanzo (so easy to make your own or buy canned)

1. Heat above in microwave about 2 minutes, and stir (greens will wilt)
2. Add fresh herbs if you choose-we added some left over grilled zucchini and stir (cook until desired temp)
3. Add some salt and pepper
4. We added a little parmesan cheese-can go cheese-less if vegan
5. Voila! Meal in an instant and nothing came prepared-with no added fat (if parm is omitted), high in protein and vitamins

Nutritional info: chick peas are high in protein-essential for healing and re-building tissues.  Greens provide calcium and iron-also important in the proper formation of bones, teeth, and gums, as well as aiding in the healing process.  Tomatoes are high in lycopene-which is a carotenoid linked to improving cardiovascular health, combating diabetes, and cancer.