12 Ways Garlic is Your Body’s Secret Weapon

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In honor of wrapping up the weekend’s celebration of Garlic at the Queen Creek Olive Mill Garlic Festival, after sniffing the roasting garlic, sampling it in un-imaginable (think dessert and delicious!) forms, and enjoying some delicious meals, it seems only appropriate to share in a bit more detail how this this little white beauty becomes such a secret weapon for the body. Check out these big benefits:

Garlic Strengthens Heart Health

1: Improves blood and blood vessel health

–Lowers blood triglycerides (5-15%)
–Reduces total cholesterol (5-15%)
–Protects blood cells and blood vessels from inflammatory and oxidative stress

2: Protects against atherosclerosis

–Coronary calcification was 3 times slower for those using garlic

3: Can prevent blockages and clot formation by its anti-clotting properties

–Keeps “stickiness” in check
–Lowers risk of platelets clumping together and forming a clot

4: Improves circulation
–Eating less garlic = poorer circulation
–Eating more = better circulation

5: Can even “reverse the early stages of heart disease”

Garlic Boosts the Immune System – Anti-viral and Anti-bacterial

6: Helps control yeast and fungus growth

7: Kills at least 13 types of bacterial and viral infections

8: Can reduce colds by more than 50% percent
–58% fewer colds
–61% fewer days with colds
–21% fewer symptoms

Garlic Fights Cancer – Lowers risk of virtually ALL cancer types with Daily Intake

9: Lowers risk of colon and kidney cancer with Moderate Intake of garlic (“several times per week”)

10: Helps modify all “critical cell responses”

11: Prevents potentially cancerous cells from forming

12: Increased garlic consumption decreased cancer risk up to 54% compared to eating Minimal Amounts

 

So how will YOU eat more garlic this week? Comment and let me know!

V5 Juice Recipe

v5-juice recipe

Great immune booster — excellent for the heart! Refreshing and flavor-FULL!

V5 Juice

6 Romas or on-the-vine tomatoes
2-4 garlic cloves*
1 large cabbage leaf
1 carrot
1/2 cucumber

Juice all 5. Stir and enjoy.

*Add garlic to juicer at the beginning or middle, to be sure other veggies push it through the machine. Use more or less depending on taste preferences. Allow to sit about 3-5 minutes for maximum garlic benefits.

 

 

Baked Zucchini

Fast – Easy – Fresh – Different – Veg Variety – Flavor Adventure

easy zucchini recipe

Baked Zucchini

1- Wash and Slice zucchini, horizontally into strips, about 1/4″ thick.

2- Spread strips onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

3- Mist with a little fresh olive oil (spray) and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning blend…or a blend of fresh, chopped herbs.

4- Bake at 350 just until tender, flipping half way through. About 15-20 minutes.

5- Add a protein, beans, another veg.

Then, enjoy with family or friends!

What to do with Asparagus?!

garlic asparagus

Add some veg variety! Here are a few tips and variations:

1- Try fresh garlic

2- Invest in an oil mister bottle! Much cleaner and fresher oil than the commercial oil sprays

3- Use parchment paper for an easy clean up

4- Bake, broil or grill until just tender

5- Skip the tough, thick stems!

6- Sprinkle with just a touch of (Organic) Parmesan/Romano, IF you’re doing dairy. YUMMM!

 

 

 

 

5 Lessons from the Garden – Part 1

lessons-from-the-gardenFall! It’s finally (mostly!) here! Don’t you just love the change of seasons?!  After the long HOT AZ summer months, I’m LOVING being back outside. AND it’s finally time to plant the garden! I certainly don’t claim to have a green thumb just yet, but I’m working on it and learning a ton in the process! It truly amazes me how our great-grandparents could survive growing the majority of their own food! What a lot of hard work. TOTALLY worth it with the flavor and nutrient quality; in fact, I’m spoiled! But I’m still surprised every season by what it takes to make a thriving garden!

More than just the fresh air, free (sweat) sauna and the excitement and anticipation of fresh produce, gardening always makes me ponder life. The parallels and visuals between the two are so incredible! Let me share just a couple I’ve been contemplating (and living out!) over the last few days and months…and how they can affect many areas of our lives!

1- Clean out the old season! – To make room for the new plants and new life requires ripping out last season’s plants, digging up old roots, and preparing for the new. SO true! So many times before we can move into new jobs, relationships, projects and adventures, we have to clean out from the last season: things we no longer need (clutter, files, equipment, books, clothes, etc.—cleaning our offices, storage room, garage, closets, pantry, kids rooms). It doesn’t just stop there, but also means letting go of past disappointments, regrets, guilt, resentment, comfort (oh my!), and sometimes even relationships and jobs. It’s those things that clutter our lives or no longer serve us and that will only hinder us and keep up from moving into the “new.” It’s amazing how deep and how big the roots can grow beneath the surface. Leaving them there will simply choke out the room and life of new plants trying to grow and be established in their place.

2- Prepare and re-nourish the soil – Healthy garden growth and nutrient-dense produce needs to grow in good, rich soil that can nourish the seeds and allow for good water drainage. Sometimes we get wiped out from our last season or we’re just not quite prepared for the new to come into place. Either way, it often takes time, effort or focus to get ready to go into a ‘new’ season. It can mean re-nourishing our body, soul and spirit, resting and recharging to be re-energized to focus on new projects, ideas or assignments. Sometimes, it’s even healing, recovering and softening from life’s circumstances, events or even traumas we’ve just lived through. Once replenished, it makes for an easier, more productive and healthy new season and harvest.

So tell me about your garden! What are you planting? What needs to come out of your life before you can move into your new season? What the state of your “soil”??…What kind of tending and TLC does it need to be ready for the “new”?

Seasons are usually for a window of time! Take advantage of it…and look for Part 2 next week.

Share these tips with a friend and “get ready” together!

 

How to Make and LOVE Kale Salad

I seriously NEVER even wanted to try Kale, let alone did I ever think it would become one of my favorite salads. Kale is waaay more than the ugly plate garnish, we tend to know. 🙂 Here’s how to make a super easy kale salad…and LOVE it!

kale salad health benefits antioxicants lowers inflammation cancer fighterMediterranean Kale Salad

2 bunches Dino/Tuscan Kale, “de-veined,” washed and chopped (Dino/Tuscan is a more mild variety)
(OR make it super easy:  1 bag washed, chopped. Be sure it’s really clean and fresh!)
2-3 Roma Tomatoes, or grape tomatoes, chopped
1 can Garbanzo beans, rinsed
2-4 Garlic cloves, minced (to taste, I LOVE garlic, so I use 4!)
1/3 cup Olive oil (extra virgin, cold pressed)
1/3 cup Lemon juice
Sea salt
Cayenne pepper
*Grated Parmesan

1- Prep veggies: wash, dry, chop

2- Rinse and drain beans (makes them much easier to digest) and heat.

3- Make dressing by combining garlic, olive oil and lemon juice in an 8oz jar. Shake to mix well.

4- Place kale into large salad bowl and pour on dressing. Sprinkle with sea salt and a pinch of cayenne, both to taste. Toss well, to coat all greens. Get your hands in there and squeeze it by the handfuls for a minute or 2 to soften the kale (OR…I prefer to divide kale and dressing into batches and pulse-chop in the food processor, so I don’t have to cut or squeeze it. It becomes a softer texture in smaller pieces.)

5- Portion into serving bowls and top each salad with tomatoes, warm beans and a sprinkle of Parmesan* (to soften and melt just a bit.)

Fabulous!!!

Serves 2, with a little left over for lunches

 

*Dairy free version – top with avocado slices. YUM!

6 Reasons Kale is Always IN

kale benefitsKale went from an almost “unknown” to practically overdone as a superfood in the past few years. However, it’s SO loaded with benefits, I think you can see why it truly will never go out of style! Check them out:

1–Gives more than 45 antioxidants to help lower inflammation throughout the body and boost the immune system

2–Protects from cancer as a primary food source of “glucosinolates,” which the body actually converts into cancer fighters, specifically against bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate cancers

3–Supports  and improves detoxification pathways in the body, helping to remove toxins (environmental, products, pesticides)

4–Helps balance hormones by further supporting detox and ridding the body of harmful estrogens in both women and men

5–Lowers cholesterol – even when compared by research to cholestyramine (cholesterol lowering Rx). [Steamed kale may prove to be even more effective!]

6–Supplies lots of Vitamin K, which also reduces inflammation, supports bone strength and balances digestive health

Try some Mediterranean Kale Salad tonight…and share these tips with a friend!

 

 

 

References: Nutr Res. 2008 Jun;28(6):351-7. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2008.03.007, as on http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19083431 June 8, 2016.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38

Sweet Potato Fries

sweet potato friesI hadn’t had fries for so long, I almost forgot how yummy they were. ….and these are EVEN better!

Sweet potatoes
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Chili powder
Cayenne
Sea salt

1- Scrub and slice sweet potatoes into desired sized strips or wedges.

2- Mist/Spray lightly with olive oil and sprinkle lightly (or heavily!)  with each of the spices to desired spicy-ness.

3- Bake at 450-  25-ish minutes or until tender, stirring or flipping the fries halfway through bake time.

Enjoy!

 

12 Secrets to Living Your Healthiest Year Yet – #9 Supplement

supplement

Take a good, whole-food-based (or pharmaceutical grade) “multi,” and be sure to supplement and support any weakened body systems (GI tract, blood sugar levels, heart health, hormones, thyroid, etc.)  Boosting the immune system and decreasing inflammation is also essential. With today’s nutrient-depleted soils and our busy lifestyles, it is difficult to fully meet the body’s nutritional needs from food alone.

Peanut Butter Chocolate No-Bake-Cookies

These cookies were a favorite growing up! Here’s a healthier version, with just a few little tweaks.

peanut butter chocolate no bake cookies gluten free dairy free sugar free

7 Tbsp raw honey
4 Tbsp butter*
4 Tbsp coconut oil
2/3 c peanut butter (or almond butter)
½ c unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp vanilla
Dash salt
3 c rolled old-fashioned oats

 

– Melt honey, butter and coconut oil together in double boiler over medium heat.
– Remove from heat and stir in cocoa, peanut butter, salt and vanilla until smooth.
– Stir in oats.
– Line cookie sheets with waxed or parchment paper and drop by spoonfuls into cookies.
– Chill or freeze until set.
Makes about 21

 

*use all coconut oil for Dairy Free, but be sure to keep well-chilled or frozen to keep cookies from “melting.”