Time & Silver Bullets

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We read that a fruit or vegetable or berry or herb helps heal the body. We try the remedy, and see no instant results. We're disappointed, that is if we're looking for a silver bullet - if we expect a quick fix. 

A quick fix sounds good, especially when you're in pain. A pill might reduce pain, give some relief. Meds can help you fall asleep or give you a burst of energy. But relief isn't healing. 

Then you think about those feel-good pictures in the med TV commercial saying one thing. Raising our hopes that the problem will be fixed immediately. But then you listen, and the audio is running off some deadly side effects you might want to pay attention to. You know, those disclaimers read so fast you can't even focus on them, and written in print so tiny you can't even read it. We've all heard of the post-promotion major safety alerts and market recalls. That's the price we pay for instant relief. 

It takes time to nourish and nurture our cells to good health, (It took time to get the body and taste buds in their present state). We create our own silver bullets by what we constantly put in our bodies - how we build our reserves and help our body heal her self. 

As we find out about different foods we are able to understand what particular food combinations can do for our bodies. And instead of comparing ourselves to others and thinking we've been so left behind, why not understand that that health itself is a process; that everyone is in repair and restore mode.

This is an exciting time for all. Scientists are being surprised at every turn with new findings about nutrients and the self-healing.

Natural foods are a key remedy in this self-healing process. Yes, our body knows healthy natural food is the "medicine," a key remedy and health sustainer in tune with time. 

Taste of Thinking

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What we're eating, drinking and thinking shape our health. The more we get used to eating certain foods, the more our taste buds recognize the patterns, the more they enjoy those foods. 

See how it we can choose to let go of acquired tastes for unhealthy "tasty" food, even if the taste buds and money make it difficult. What we became is not necessarily who we are. 

We enjoy good or bad foods based on taste, but this taste is programmed by what we are used to and the good feelings of pleasant memories that come with it - you know, that rainy night, that family reunion, that restaurant in another city, that movie, that song, that sunrise! 

Word is now out, that "experts" are paid to give bad food a blissful taste and create pleasant memory aromas to go with it. People know there are major food manufacturers mixing poisonous dyes to give food color, and unhealthy fats, sugars and salt to create and feed the feel-good taste so we keep coming back.

Then they flash "organic" and "natural" on their labels because they know people naturally want to eat healthy... conditioning us to like not-so-good food. We start to see how "That's what I like," "That's what I don't like," is conditioning. 

The body and taste buds together gradually get conditioned for real food, nutrition as we repeat good eating habits.

The body asks, "Where's my nutrition?" each time we eat or drink anything. Our organs sing happily when what we're thinking and doing is in tune with our bodies; not just pleasing taste buds.
  

Tomato Barley Soup

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Delicious, nutritious soup, and quite filling! 

Ingredients

• 1 cup Barley (or 1/2 cup according to taste)
• 3 large Tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 cup Mushrooms (of your choice)
• 2 large bunches of Baby spinach
• 1 large Onion (chopped)
• 2 Garlic cloves (diced)
• 1 red Pepper (chopped)
• 1 Carrot (chopped)
• 3 cups no-sodium Vegetable broth (or water)
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 tbs Olive oil
• Sea salt (optional)

Directions

Heat pot with olive oil add chopped onions, red peppers, carrot, garlic, mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes. Add vegetable broth, barley, tomatoes, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, basil, thyme and salt.  Let cook until soup thickens and barley is soft. Add spinach and serve.

Some Health Benefits

Barley helps nourish cells against damaged (cancer) growtheyes. Its fibers help the body digest, absorb and eliminate the food we eat. Good for the digestive system and bodies that should lose some weight! Barley's mineral content also supports blood (against diabetes for example), bone and muscle health.

Mushrooms help the maintain healthy blood sugar levels. It assists the body to process and produce energy from the food we eat. Mushrooms are also a boost to healthy organs fighting cancerous cells especially in the prostate - making it useful against prostate cancer.

Tomatoes, like Barley and mushroom, fights cancer and enriches the blood, helping balance blood sugar (against diabetes) boost eye and skin health from inside. It nourishes the heart and helps the body prevent strokes and balances blood pressure (against hypertension). It also assists in restoring bone mass (countering osteoporosis). it nourishes and flushes the kidneys  helping to prevent gallstones and kidney stones.

Carrots also enrich the blood, support eye health and help in digestion.

Spinach boosts the immune system, the nervous system and brain health. It also shares the other ingredients properties that insure blood, eye, skin and digestive system health. Like the others, spinach is a balm for cell health against cancer and inflammation.  

Garlic and onions aid in restoring health to swollen cells (against inflammation) and cancerous organs. They help break down foods, fight toxins and unhealthy bacteria and help heal wounds and clears scars. Onions are known to help repair black people's (brown) skin where there are hypertrophic scars.    

PLEASE EXPLORE OTHER SOURCES TO ENRICH UNDERSTANDINGS OF NUTRIENTS

Catching On: Nutrition First

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The food we eat, exposure to the sun and physical activity help create healthy or diseased bodies. 

High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity - complicated by stress - have hit black people hard since we began spending much of our time indoors, being inactive and putting taste before nutrition. 

Yes, how we respond to stress is an issue. And often, it comes down to what's sustaining our bodies. In spite of the terrible physical, emotional and psychic stress of slavery, blacks back then were generally in better shape than many of us are today. 

Much of what is called food today looks good to the eyes and tastes "good" on the tongue, but is bad for the body. Fortunately, the awareness of the effects on families and the economy are forcing people to put natural eating and good nutrition first once again.

The pace and scope of this change might make it all feel like a passing fad. TV commercials and programs, doctors and politicians are increasingly promoting healthy foods. There's votes to win and money to make when you put "Nutrition first." 

You know health foods are in high demand when Walmart promotes it. You know it's what's on when Tops, Wegmans and Price Rite are selling it - and when some food industry giants are labeling their "tasty" unhealthy food as "healthy" and/or "natural" to get in on it. 

Don't be surprised if a health food store pops up in your area. Watch out, Lori's and Abundance! Those prices better come down, now. Shoo', we need neighborhood-run health food stores in the 'hood! People want to eat healthy. 

It is no longer cool to reject healthy food because it looks like some hippie, "alternative," white people thing. And healthy eating is not supposed to be boring, Google "health food recipes." You'll be flooded with more tasty recipes than you can handle. It's an excellent time to be get creative.

Blacks as a people have been known for living in harmony with nature. (And the world ate healthier before the "free market" profit overdrive.) Remember, our closeness to nature was an Enlightenment era justification for slavery. The "civilized" world is now catching on to it.

Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie

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A boost of nutrition in one drink

I made this smoothie this morning. It offers up a good dose of your daily nutritional needs! Start your day or vitalize your body anytime later with this drink. Black bodies have an affinity to the tropical pineapple as well as the nuts and seed content. 

Ingredients

• Strawberries
• Pineapple
• Almonds
• Pecans
• Peanuts
• Walnuts
• Hemp Seeds
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Orange Juice
• Almond Milk

Directions

Place ingredients in a blender or other smoothie maker and whip to your preferred consistency. More nuts and seeds with smaller quantities of orange juice and almond milk make it creamier and thicker. 

Some Health Benefits

Strawberries in our diet help build resistance against infections, inflammation and cancerous cells. They strengthen the immune system in general, and supports brain and heart health. Strawberries also enrich the blood and helps control blood clots. They help in cell growth and in healing cuts and wounds Strawberries' nutrients support bone and tooth health. The fruit is useful in countering high blood pressure, gout and arthritis.

The Pineapple strengthens the immune system and helps clean our bodies as a natural detox. The fruit is eaten to counter swelling, vitamin C deficiencies, arthritis and indigestion (constipation). It helps break down proteins, sugars and starch. It is therefore useful in weight loss. Pineapples also support eye, skin, bones, the heart and blood vessel health. 

Pumpkin Seeds, which are also helpful in resolving weight issues, help restore balance to blood sugar levels, making it useful against diabetes. They also supports prostate health. The seeds contain serotonin which is known to help in inducing sleep. So, it is useful against insomnia. Pumpkin seeds also offer dietary fiber necessary for digestion and absorption; and magnesium which is necessary for energy production.

Hemp seeds are a vital source of dietary fiber, Omega-3 and Omega-6, and magnesium. They are also rich in proteins. They support blood, skin, organ and immune system health. Also, hemp seeds are useful as a detox.

The Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie's Orange Juice content supports skin and tissue health, and helps the body resist cancerous cells. The smoothie's mixed Nuts content add to insuring heart, bone, blood sugar, brain, nervous system, digestive system and immune system health.

PLEASE EXPLORE OTHER SOURCES TO ENRICH UNDERSTANDINGS OF NUTRIENTS

Red Beans & Curry Brown Rice

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Easy-to-make and nutrient rich

I enjoyed putting this homemade dish together. It was surprisingly easy to make!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Red beans
• 2 large Tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 large Onions (chopped)
• 2 Garlic cloves (diced)
• 1 Green pepper (chopped)
• 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Chili powder
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1 tbs Olive Oil
• 2 cups Brown rice
• 1 tsp Curry powder
• Sea salt (optional)

Preparation

Cook brown rice with curry powder. Set aside when done.

Slow cook beans a day before in a slow cooker (do not drain water once beans are done).  Heat olive oil in pot. Add onions and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes. Add cooked beans with water, tomatoes, garlic, cayenne pepper, chili powder, bay leaf and basil. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Serve over curry brown rice.

You are going to love this healthy dish ... and it's even better the next day!

Some Known Nutritional Benefits*

"Rice & Beans" is, historically, a common healthy, easy-to-prepare dish among Black people worldwide. What's in it for us? First, the ingredients of the red beans gravy (the beans, tomatoes, spices and herbs):

Red beans is a well known rich source of protein and iron for muscle and blood health.

Tomatoes also increase bone health. Tomatoes also help prevent and fight against cancer, DNA damage, inflammation and degenerative diseases. 

Cayenne pepper helps blood circulation.

Garlic and onions are useful antibiotics. Both help fight infections. Garlic, obviously, is more potent.

Bay leaf is known to help fight infections, some ulcers, bleeding, arthritis, bronchitis, flu symptoms, some ulcers and urine retention. It does more: It stimulates appetite, digestion, absorption, elimination of the foods we eat. It helps improve blood iron content, blood pressure, heart health, brain cell and nervous system health.

Basil boosts the skin and hair health, digestive tract health, and immune system health, bones' connective tissue and harmful bacteria.

Brown rice is rich in fiber. Fiber counters constipation and helps absorb and eliminate what we eat. Brown rice's high magnesium content supports bone health and helps produce the energy our bodies derive from our meals. Brown rice's zinc helps prevent and fights cancerous cells, heal wounds and shore up the immune system. This whole grain's Vitamin B-6 secures nerve and blood cell health.

Curry combines well with brown rice not just for color and flavor, nutritionally, it also boosts the immune system. Another similarity is it counters cancer cells and inflammation. Curry also nourishes heart and brain cells.

Serve this recipe with a salad or dark green vegetables.

*PLEASE EXPLORE OTHER SOURCES TO ENRICH UNDERSTANDINGS OF NUTRIENTS