Contact Val at
val@macroval.com
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Mochi
is a traditional Japanese food. They have a tradition of making the
sweet, gooey treat at the end of December for their festive New Year's
dinner. It is made by soaking, then steaming sweet brown rice. What
makes the mochi so unique is then they pound it to get a thick, gooey
mass of rice. If you make it yourself this way you can eat it right
away, as they do in some families still to this day.
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It is traditional
for the pounding to be done by the grandparents. The grandfather doing
the pounding and the grandmother turning the hollowed out log that is
used to make the mochi. In most cases, however, you will probably be
buying your mochi from the refrigerated section of a health food store.
The sweet brown
rice used to make the mochi is high in protein. Mochi is known to be
a strengthening food that increases your stamina. It is recommended
for people dealing with health problems such as: blood sugar imbalances,
weak intestines, anemia, and lactating women. Mochi is great to keep
your bowel movements regular and can help with constipation.
The mochi you buy
in the store is not made by a grandparent hand pounding it for you.
They have to produce large volumes of the food, so they have come up
with machinery to imitate the traditional way of making the mochi. It
comes in a square wrapped in plastic. Mochi is not always easily available,
I suggest you make it for yourself from scratch.
It works great thickening
a soup. Once the mochi is cooked it becomes sticky. It will thicken
soups, make casseroles creamy, and when melted you can make a (mock)
cheese sauce. A popular way that people eat Mochi is to cut it into
small square, heat in a sauté pan and it puffs up. It is crispy
on the outside and sticky on the inside.
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Sweet
potatoes with their signature dark reddish color can make very colorful
dishes to celebrate Valentine's day. And sweet potatoes have many
health benefits for the heart also. High in fiber, potassium, pantothonic
acid, manganese, iron, vitamin C, A and B2.
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Millet is known
for feeding and nurturing your spleen, pancreas, and stomach, it is
considered an anti-stress grain. Millet has the highest amino acid protein
profile and highest iron content. It is a gluten-free grain and contains
B vitamins, also rich in phosphorus. Millet is the easiest whole grain
to digest and is alkalizing to the body.
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Black
Beans are an excellent source of protein. High in zinc, iron, potassium,
calcium, several B vitamins, black beans are great for your heart, kidneys,
adrenal glands, liver, brain, and can help stabilize your blood sugar.
They are also high in antioxidants which protects your cells from damage
from free radicals.
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Beans have been
studied to show their anti-cancer properties. They contain the photochemical
dioseginin which has been shown to stop cancer cells from multiplying.
Plus isoflavones that can prevent certain cancers and heart disease.
Corn is the signature
whole grain of summer. It has a naturally sweet taste that creates a
delicious soup. Corn feeds and nurtures the heart, brain, and circulatory
system. Containing Vitamin A, which is an antioxidant that is great
for your eyes and also is anti-inflammatory.
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Many people
want to make Miso Soup but are not sure how to make a tasty version or
how to change the ingredients to create a lighter miso soup for spring.
Below I share my Spring Time Miso Soup recipe from my 'Healthy
and Delicious Cooking Spring Season' cookbook.
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Miso is fermented
soy beans. The darker the miso the longer it has been fermented and
has a richer, saltier taste. Look for unpasteurized miso that has to
be refrigerated.
Having been eaten
for over 2,500 years, miso is a live food, containing lactobacillus,
a healthful microorganism. It contains all 8 essential amino acids,
which make it a complete protein. Miso contains 11 grams of protein
per tablespoon. It help break down and discharge cholesterol, neutralizes
the effects of environmental pollution, alkalizes your blood, and can
prevent radiation sickness.

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May - Basil
Basil
(Ocimum basilicum), my favorite spice, I am always raving about
the aroma and the taste. Plus the medicinal properties are very impressive.
It can be used to help treat mild depression, headaches, aids in digestion,
and it helps inflammatory, anti bacterial, anti microbial which can
help fight off viruses and infections. Also high in vitamin C, iron,
calcium, manganese, magnesium, potassium and folate.
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One of my favorite
things about basil is that it is a natural mosquito repellant. Containing
many aromatic compounds called volatiles, is why the mosquitos stay
away. Use some basil essential oil and dap a very little (it has a strong
smell) on the top of your head, and on your arms, they will stay away
from you and you smell delicious!
When using fresh
basil instead of dried, you need more of the fresh to get the flavor
you are looking for in a recipe. If a recipe calls for 1 tsp. dried
basil, you would want to use 1 T. fresh chopped basil.
Basil is a member
of the large mint family and has a long and interesting history. It
is thought to have origins in India over 5,000 years ago. There are
some indications that it may be older with ancient records mentioning
it in the Hunan region of China around 807 A.D. In ancient Egypt it
was likely used as an embalming and preserving herbs because it has
been found in tombs and mummies. That may be why in Greece it is a symbol
of mourning where it was known as 'Basilikon phuton', meaning
magnificent, royal or kingly. Basil also has been used in healing in
the ancient tradition of Ayurveda medicine. In Jewish folklore it is
said to add strength while fasting. And in Portugal, basil is used as
part of gifts given to sweethearts and lovers on certain religious holidays.

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Whole
grain salads are a great way to increase your energy for all the fun
activities of summer. They are a great combination of cooked whole grains
and cooling raw vegetables. The combo of cooked and raw foods gives
your digestive track the prebiotics and probiotics it needs for healthy
digestion.
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Whole grains give
you energy by digesting very slowly in your digestive track. The slow
digestion releases glucose very slowly into your blood stream, which
gives you a slow steady supply of energy. It also balances your blood
sugar levels to keep your energy steady. If you want to have a lot of
energy, you should eat a lot of whole grains. They should be the biggest
portion on your plate when you sit down for your meal. These whole grains
include; brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, amaranth, kasha, millet, oats,
spelt, corn, rye, kamut, and teff. The quicker cooking whole grains
are used more frequently during the summer such as quinoa, amaranth,
and corn.

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Blueberries, my
favorite fruit, are packed full of health benefits. They have been
shown to be excellent for your heart and brain, good for maintaining
healthy blood pressure, great for your eyes, skin and bones, and even
help reduce risk of cancer. They contain vitamin C, K, B6, K, Calcium,
Iron, magnesium, phosphorous, folate, manganese, and cooper.
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Blueberrie's
dark blue color indicate they are high in antioxidants, one of which
is anthocyanins, shown to be help maintain a health heart, good blood
pressure and lower high cholesterol. Anthocyanins also are great for
your skin, they assist in fighting oxidative DNA damage and the abundance
of vitamin C helps build collagen. All this goes along with blueberries
helping to prevent signs of aging, wrinkles, and sagging skin.
The
new Simply Healthy Scrumptious Desserts
cookbook has recipes that are all sugar free and feature healthy
ingredients such as blueberries. Many times we are taught desserts
are not good for us and people ty to avoid them. Mostly the reason
for avoiding desserts is the bad effects of refined sugars, refined
flours and high fat dairy products. With the recipes in my new cookbook
you can eat your desserts and be healthy also!
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Quinoa
(pronounced 'keen-wa') was the mother grain of the Incas. They considered
it sacred and held ceremonies honoring quinoa. In South America, in
the high altitudes of the Andes mountains, quinoa has been grown, harvested,
and eaten since at least 3,000 B.C. Because of its hardiness, being
able to survive at such high altitudes, quinoa is considered a strengthening
food.
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Although botanically
quinoa is a fruit, we classify it as a whole grain. In fact, quinoa
is the signature whole grain for summer time. As one of the easiest
whole grains to digest, it gives us a tremendous amount of energy to
be able to be very active in the summertime.
Quinoa is high in
calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin E, magnesium, and manganese, and
is a complete protein. Quinoa is high in quercetin and kaempferol, two
flavonoids that have anti-inflammatory, anti- viral, anti-cancer and
anti-depressant properties.
Quinoa cooks up
quickly and has a nutty flavor, making it ideal for creating cold salads,
perfect for a summer meal.
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September -
Late Summer
Fall
may be just around the corner, however we are in the season of Late
Summer which sometimes gets over looked. The time of transition
called Earth Phase of Energy we are going from the extreme hot summer
to the cool fall temperatures. At this time we are enjoying the
sweet vegetables from our garden: butternut squash, delicata squash,
rutabaga, pumpkin, and parsnips. The organs we nurture at this time
are the spleen, pancreas and stomach, our middle organs that help
you deal with stress. The flavor for this time of year is sweet
which include all the vegetables mentioned plus the signature whole
grain, millet, that has a creamy texture and a naturally sweet taste.
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The emotions associated
with late summer earth energy phase are compassion, thoughtfulness,
empathy, and being self assured. When we eat these naturally sweet foods
from mother earth, the middle organs function properly and we are compassionate,
can empathize with other people and we are thoughtful. When out of balance,
we get so stressed out that we can only think of ourselves, we have
self pity, being stressed has a way of focusing all our attention on
ourselves instead of having thoughtfulness for others. If you look around
to how our food supply is inundated with sugar, we can see how this
imbalance can be created. To nurture these middle organs to help you
deal with stress the mildly sweet vegetables is what the body needs.
But we tend to go for the over sweet, chemically made white sugar which
just wrecks havoc on these organs making them weaker, creating being
in a state of constant stress. This constant stress can create the self
pity and inability to have empathy for others.
To make sure that
you stay in balance with late summer earth energy phase eat the whole
grain millet and the vegetables that have a naturally sweet taste.

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Pumpkin
is one of the first food crops that humans consumed in North America.
It is believed to originated in Central America about 7,500 years
ago however it looked nothing like the orange pumpkins we see today.
It was much smaller, had a hard outer skin, and had a bitter taste.
Food can change a lot in over 7,000 years and I am grateful that today's
pumpkin are softer and much more sweet to the taste.
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The first
American recipes published using pumpkin were for a side dish similar
to mashed sweet potatoes. Recipes resembling pumpkin pie started to
appear around 1670's but were very different from what we now serve
for our holiday dessert. The old recipes had a pie filling with alternating
layers of pumpkin and apple with spiced rosemary, sweet marjoram, and
thyme. I think most people now would be very surprised to taste this
version of a pumpkin pie and it usually did not have a crust because
crust just were not popular. By the 1800's women were challenging themselves
to create unique and innovative new ways to serve pumpkin and that is
when the more traditional pumpkin pie was created that we now are use
to eating.
Pumpkin contains
a sufficient amount of beta carotene which the body converts to vitamin
A, known for improving eye sight and can even help you see better in
low light conditions. And just like so many of the foods I use in my
cooking, pumpkin is very high in vitamin C to help boost your immune
system. Also a great source of potassium, fiber, iron, folate, and vitamin
E, an antioxidant. Plus if you want the food to help with your lungs,
pumpkin is one of the best with health promoting compound to benefit
the lungs, carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin.

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November
- Winter
Squashes
Winter
squashes are in the cucurbita genus and are considered
a fruit. The reason squash is considered a fruit is because they
have seeds and the squashes comes from the flower. However when
we cook with squashes we usually serve then as a vegetable and
there are far more savory dishes featuring squash than desert
dishes.
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Squashes are full
of fiber, high in antioxidants, and minerals. Squashes boost your immune
system, improve digestion, strengthen bones, can help lower high cholesterol,
eliminate inflammation, help reduce high blood pressure, regulate metabolism,
and optimize blood sugar levels.
Butternut squash is
probably the most familiar and most popular. It is the one with the long
neck and ball at the bottom, orange in color and the skin is soft. It
has a wonderful sweetness and soft texture.
Delicata squash, my
favorite, is the sweetest of the winter squashes. It is smaller, oblong,
yellow with green strips and a very soft skin and creamy texture.
Acorn squash is not
as sweet but still has a mellow sweetness and wonderful taste. Acorn squash
has a green skin and bright yellow inside. The skin can be eaten, but
is not as soft as the butternut or delicata. The three squashes roasted
together give you three distinct tastes and textures with a lot of color.

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December -Fruit
Crisp
When
creating desserts for the holidays, the easy ones can be the most
delicious. A fruit crisp will always go over well with everyone
you are serving for the desserts at a holiday meal. Because it is
the winter, buying frozen organic fruit for this recipes is advised.
It is important that you use organic fruit because chemicals have
a bitter flavor and that flavor will come through in your dessert.
Not to mention also the detrimental effects of chemicals on our
food plays in our overall health. And fruit has a high water content,
which means it will absorbed more of the chemicals.
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When creating my
Peach Black Raspberry Crisp from
Simply Health Scrumptious Desserts,
it calls for cookie crumbs, which are easy to make. You simply put cookies
in a food processor and puree until you have crumbs. I use my home made
cookies to do this, but healthy sugar free, organic cookies that you
purchase can also be used to make cookie crumbs. Harder cookies make
the best cookie crumbs as opposed to soft cookies.
This version of
the recipe uses peaches and black raspberries, a great flavor combination,
however you can use your favorite fruit in this recipe. Black raspberries
may be challenging to find, even frozen. They are grown in the wild
and the supply will depend on the harvest for that year. You can substitute
blackberries for black raspberries. The difference is, blackberries
are larger and black raspberries are a little more sweet. Both contain
vitamin C, A and B complex, anti inflammatory properties, high in fiber
and great for your heart and brain. Peaches are full of fiber, vitamin
C, A and B complex, great for your skin, zinc, aid in digestion, and
can help boost immunity.
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