Going Nuts For Pizza

Nuts, Raisin & Fig Crust Chicken Pizza

I've been experimenting with nuts lately, and I decided to make my self a pizza. I wanted all the nutrients I can get in my veggies, so I kept them away from heat. Hence my partially raw pizza. I ended up only cooking the chicken, and the crust for as little I can, just to crisp it up.My measurements were rough, so there is no exact recipe. But anything goes!

	Nut Crust  3 Tbsp Raw Almonds 3 Tbsp Raw Walnuts 2 Tbsp Raw Pistachio 2 Tbsp Shredded Coconut  1 Tbsp Flax Seed 1 tsp Kalunji (Nigella) 3 tsp Pinenuts 2 Tbsp Raw Sesame Seeds 2 Tbsp Zaatar Mix 2 tsp Turmeric 2 tsp Sultana Raisins 2 Tbsp Dried Figs 2 Cloves Garlic 1 Egg (extra ground nuts or flour to fix dough consistency)	Kneaded Dough
Grind & Mix together all Nuts, Fruit & Spicing Ingredients	Add Egg & knead dough until you get a play-dough consistency More ground nuts or flour can be added to reach desired consistency	Pre-heat Oven at 350° Oil your tray or baking dish Press dough to form ½ cm pizza crust Bake for 15 min or until slightly golden

On the side I had prepared the Pizza Sauce 1 small Tomato ½ Onion 3 cloves Garlic 2 tsp Tomato paste 2 tsp roasted Chilli peppers ½ tsp Oregano ½ tsp Basil ¼ tsp Black pepper pinch of salt	I used some of the pizza sauce to flavor my chicken, but the remainder of the sauce was used as a raw sauce. While cooking the crust, I added some cheese. Then topped it with my pizza sauce flavored chicken bits.
To treat my self I made some caramelized onions. But fresh is better. If I had green onions I would have used that instead. Caramelized Onions 1 small Onion 2 Tbsp Sugar ¼ cup Water - Boil water - Melt Sugar - Add sliced Onions -  Stir until water evaporates & sugar starts browning	Over the chicken bits, I added the sauce, and then the caramelized onions. Now to choose my Toppings. Red peppers Raddichio Avocado Black Olives Lettuce The amount is up to you. Add more or less of what you like and dislike.

Tasted wonderful, and I loved the colors.

Who's Full of *&%#

Do you have days where you look like this on the toilet?  

If so, I say ReThink Health. 

Your digestive system is a major influence on your health, and if it's not working as it should, trouble will find it.

This image could mean your body is telling you a few things. And as I always say... LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!!

One being the obvious constipation; this is when there's a lack of ability in having a bowel movement. Stools most likely are hard, or you may experience incomplete evacuations. But don't be fooled, what must stay in can come out. Excess pushing or straining may caused prolapse of the rectum (and we sure don't need any more appendages). Moreover, 'straining' over a period of time can lead to loss of intestinal and rectal muscle function, causing you to be trapped in a circle of constipation & pushing.

Think: What goes in Must come out. We eat the food, absorb the nutrients and transfer our body toxins into the remaining matter - the fiber. Now the only thing left to do is expel. The longer it takes us to do such release, the higher the chance we have to reabsorb the toxins.

It's considered healthy to make 1-3 bowel movements daily. Get the toxins out as quickly as possible.  Constipation is not necessarily a dangerous disorder; however,  leaving constipation untreated can cause discomforting symptoms like  abdominal pain, swollen abdomen, vomiting,  skin problems, hemorrhoids, infrequent bowel movements, bad breath,  prolapsed rectum, kidney dysfunction and of course body odor. 

If you understand how our body functions, it'll be easy to see how one can eliminate or reduced constipation and hardened stools. Tools are needed to help our body in this journey of health. Dietary Fiber plays a major role here.There are two types: Soluble & Insoluble.

As there name states, the soluble fiber retains water and turns to gel during digestion. It also slows digestion and nutrient absorption from the stomach and intestine.The reason soluble fiber is good is partly due to the 'gel' for it takes. Think of it as a sponge absorbing all the toxins your body wants to eliminate.

Soluble fiber is found in Foods such as oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, and some fruits and vegetables. 

 Soluble Fiber - Retains water - Forms a gel - Absorbs toxins for elimination

Insoluble fiber, on the other hand is insoluble, the fibers in these foods can't be digested so they remain as fibers - similar to a mop, ready to sweep away all the gunk. Insoluble fiber appears to speed the passage of foods through the stomach and intestines and adds bulk to the stool. It is found in Foods such as wheat bran, vegetables and whole grains.

Insoluble Fiber - Adds bulk to stool - Acts as fibre-mop - Sweeps unwanted matter & toxins out

Note that fiber alone isn't enough. Too much fiber and no water for instance can also cause constipation. Balance is key, and once again listen to your body and your stools, they tell you what's going on inside you. 

Other measures to be taken: 

• Adequate fluid intake
• Exercise
• limit over-consumption of dairy products,
• Don't prevent yourself from making bowel movements when your body wants to. 
• Eat your Fibers

Soluble fiber Sources	Non-soluble fiber Sources
Oat bran Oatmeal Beans and legumes Peas Carrots Sweet potatoes Rice bran Barley Citrus fruits Strawberries Bananas	Whole-wheat breads Wheat cereal Wheat bran Rice (except for white rice) Barley Cabbage Beets Brussels sprouts Turnips Cauliflower Fruits and vegetables with skin

Some people may experience constipation caused by diseases and disorders like hypothyroidism, hemorrhoids, colon cancer, neurological conditions (eg. Parkinson's disease), metabolic disorder, and a host of other disorders.

Happy Eating!

Wild Purple & Yellow Breakfast

 
Today I woke up with the thought of making breakfast. Initial thought was eggs, but I needed more oomph to the dish. Not having an idea as to what's in the fridge, I opened it to notice some boiled beets, & boiled quinoa.  I felt like I needed more ingredients, so I opened the vegetable drawer to find some yams and orange bell peppers.  All ingredients out of the fridge, now I needed to figure out what to make.



Ingredient List:

Eggs - Quinoa - Beets - Wild Rice - Flax Seed - Raw Almonds - Yam - Orange Bell Peppers - Garlic - Cayenne - Black Pepper - Olive Oil    AND    Blackberries


Wild Purple Quinoa 
I decided to mix the quinoa with the beets and add some fibre to it. I boiled some wild rice, and also ground flax seed and ground raw almond nuts.

Yam & Pepper Medley
For this, I chopped the yam and peppers, (boiled the yams) and then quickly stir fried the with some cayenne and black pepper & garlic. I had accidentally made too much wild rice for the quinoa, so I used the rest here.

Egg
Simple easy sunny side up egg, with a sprinkle of cayenne, blackpepper and salt.

Blackberry Beet juice
to top this all off I made a juice to drink later on as a mini snack. I say snack, because along with the beets and blackberries & orange juice, I added ground flax seed and ground raw almonds. These provide you with the nutrients, without altering the taste of the juice. Please note NO SUGAR was added. Blackberries alone give the sweet taste, and Beets are usually a source of sugar.. so don't add the sugar if you don't need it.

Mustard benefits - seeds & greens

Mustard seeds are grown in 3 main varieties white, black and brown. The black seeds are common in South Asia and the brown seeds are native to sub-Himalayan plains of North India.

Mustard seeds are high in calories and are good source of dietary fiber; recommended in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.

Mustard greens are an excellent source of essential B-complex vitamins such as folates, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine (vitaminB-6), pantothenic acid. Niacin helps lower blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.






Mustard is rich source of many health benefiting minerals.
- Calcium
- Manganese
- Copper
- Iron
- Selenium
- Zinc

These minerals are especially concentrated in these seeds.

Mustard seeds and its oil has traditionally been used to relieve muscle pain, rheumatism and arthritic pain. Mustard oil is applied over scalp in India and is believed to stimulate hair growth. Its ground seeds act as a laxative, stimulant to gastric mucosa and increase intestinal secretion.