Tag Archives: food

The Shape of Foods Help our Organs?? – BEANS

1 Nov

This is part of a series on how our food can help certain organs that resemble their same shape. I already shared with you how carrots benefit the eyes, how tomatoes and grapes benefit the heart, how walnuts are essential for brain health and how celery and other stalky veggies are great for bone health.

And now… beans. You know I am not a fan of beans. And red kidney beans least of them all. I have been able to tackle chickpeas / garbanzo beans, white beans, and lentils so far. But to me, the worst are red kidney beans. And the worst thing… the red kidney bean is considered the national bean in Puerto Rico – arroz con habichuelas colorás is the norm in every traditional Puerto Rican home.

According to this theory, beans and particularly red kidney beans are supposed to be good for kidney health. I have not been able to find ANYTHING in this cyber world we live in where it says beans are good for kidneys. The closest I found was that kidney beans are an excellent source of the trace mineral, molybdenum, which is responsible for detoxifying sulfites. Sulfites are a type of preservative commonly added to prepared foods like meats, prepared products and dried goods, like sun-dried tomatoes, dried fruits and some vinegars.

Red Kidney Beans are good sources of fiber and protein. That we do know and combined with whole grain rice, it provides all the essential amino acids a person needs to support good health.

I do not have any recipes with red-kidney beans, but here are a few recipes using other types of beans/legumes you could try today:

Chickpea Cocido

Hummus

Babaga-hummus

Lentil Soup Mom’s Style

Toasted Chickpeas and Pistachios

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KarmaFree Cooking on the Radio…

31 Oct

If you want to listen to my melodious voice…  I’ll be interviewed by Nicole Taylor in her Radio show HOT GREASE today @ 3:30PM Eastern Time. You can listen to us LIVE on www.heritageradionetwork.com.

We’ll be chatting about Halloween in Puerto Rico, Vegetarian Candy and many other interesting topics.  Hope you guys tune in and enjoy it.

 

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Gluten-Free Finds – Food for Life English Muffins

28 Oct

Recently I had to go on a wheat-free, corn-free diet and being the bread/cereal lover that I am, I was crushed. I went to my local health food store and bought a few things so I wouldn’t feel deprived, especially during breakfast.

I love fruits for breakfast… in a fruit salad or a smoothie, but it’s not enough for me. I always need to supplement my breakfast with something heartier. Something that will keep me feeling fuller longer.

Enter the Food for Life English Muffins… OMG!! I am now obsessed with these. They’re crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. They have super delicious texture, in my opinion. It has even the “nooks and crannies” of that other more popular brand.

I like to eat them with cream cheese (ahem, Tofutti’s Better than Cream Cheese if you’re vegan ) and preserves – strawberry or apricot. YUM!!! I even had a few of these for dinner a few nights.

You find them in the frozen food section of your health food store. I just take them out of the freezer and warm up in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes. To be honest I never time it, but the muffins begin to split a bit when they’re ready.

With options like these, anyone can easily go gluten-free, even if it’s just for 30 days!!!!

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Soyrizo Apricot Quesadilla

24 Oct

My dear friends Angie and Ana are taking these cooking classes on Wednesday nights… I am not participating because these classes are not vegetarian and I would not be able to cook or actually taste almost anything they make. But the ideas their teacher shares are quite good sometimes and I like to vegetarianize them to be able to enjoy them.

Such is the case with a croissant idea filled with chorizo and apricot jam… Refrigerated croissant dough does not come in whole wheat form, unfortunately. So I decided to make-over the recipe given to me by Angie into a quesadilla.

Never been too fond of Mexican chorizo… I much preferred Spanish chorizo. But this Soyrizo tastes like the Mexican version with strong cumin notes. I take it easy with this soyrizo because after my first trip to India, I developed a strong aversion to cumin. For years I was not able to taste cumin or even smell it up close. Now I’m better, but I am still not a cumin fan.

What I do love about this recipe is the salty/sweet combination… and it has a very rich flavor, so be prudent and don’t over stuff your quesadilla.

SOYRIZO APRICOT QUESADILLA

1 FlatOut flatbread or whole wheat tortilla
2 handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese
1 ½ tbs of apricot jam
About 2 inches of soyrizo
2 large scallion, chopped finely
2 tbs softened butter
2 tsps brown sugar
Butter-flavored spray
Olive oil
  1. In a small non-stick skillet over medium high heat, with a tad bit of olive oil, cook the soyrizo. Start moving it around allowing it to brown on one side before mixing it up and moving it around. It will cook and brown until it turns into crumbles. Set aside.
  3. Pre-heat toaster oven to 425F.
  4. In a baking sheet, spray butter-flavored oil to make sure your tortilla or flatbread does not stick. Place your flatbread halfway in the pan.
  5. Start mounting the fillings… spread most of the apricot jam on the bottom half of your quesadilla. Add the cheese, the crumbled cooked soyrizo, the scallions and a tad bit additional apricot jam if you wish. Fold the tortilla to create a half moon. Press it lightly to make it all “stick together”.
  7. Spread some softened butter on top of tortilla or flatbread and sprinkle some brown sugar on top.
  8. Place in oven for about 5-7 minutes. The cheese will melt, the fillings will fuse together and the top will get brown and crunchy. Take it out if the oven and allow a few minutes for the cheese to cool down.
  9. Cut into wedges and enjoy…

I did this with 2 tortillas and the flavor was too rich for me. But I encourage making it with two tortillas if you are sharing.

The scallions are my addition to this recipe and I feel they help cut a bit of the oiliness of the cheese and soyrizo plus it adds some freshness.

Try it… and tell me if you like it or not. What are your favorite quesadilla ideas???

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The Shape of Foods Help our Organs?? – CELERY, BOK CHOY and RHUBARB

22 Oct

This is part of a series on how our food can help certain organs that resemble their same shape. I already shared with you how carrots benefit the eyes, how tomatoes and grapes benefit the heart and how walnuts are essential for brain health.

Celery, rhubarb and bok choy, among others, are stalky and long… just like our bones. These foods specifically target bone’s health because they’re both 23% sodium – bones are 23% sodium and so are these foods. When you lack sodium in your system, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish and maintain balance to the skeletal needs of the body.

Celery and rhubarb also contain calcium… but its better absorbed when eaten with other calcium rich foods, such as yogurt or cheese.

I don’t use celery all that much in my cooking and have never eaten rhubarb in my life, but here are some recipes where you can incorporate celery and bok choi into your diet:

Celery Lime Juice

Celery Pineapple Juice

Roasted Vegetable Stock

Tofu Cashew Stir Fry

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