Forks over Knives

Cooking classes- Veggies

Some benefits of vegetables with high nutritional values

• A 41% reduced risk of heart disease
• 22% lower risk of certain cancers
• Protection from macular degeneration and glaucoma
• Better teeth and bone structure
• Improved memory and brain function
• Stronger immune system – less colds, flu and infections

Only 14% of U.S. adults eat enough fruits, vegetables

By Lindsey Anderson, USA TODAY 9/29/2009

Only 14% of adults eat the recommended number of servings of fruit and vegetables a day, says a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 33% of adults meet the recommendation of two or more servings of fruits a day; 27% eat the recommended three or more servings of vegetables.

Washington, D.C., leads the nation in eating fruits and vegetables: 20.1% of adults report they meet both daily recommendations. Mississippi sits at the bottom with 8.8%.

Three of the top states are in New England, and three of the bottom states are in the Southeast. The disparity could be a result of the lack of farmers markets in the Southeast and policies that promote healthful foods in schools and communities, says Heidi Blanck, senior scientist for the CDC.

High school students fare worse than adults: 9.5% report they eat two or more fruits and three or more vegetables a day. About the same number of students (32%) as adults say they meet the fruit recommendation, but only 13% say they eat at least three servings of vegetables a day.

The Healthy People 2010 objective from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services aims to have 75% of the U.S. population meeting the daily fruit recommendations and 50% meeting the daily vegetable recommendations.

"At the current rate, the goal won't be met," Blanck says.

To raise the percentage of people meeting the goals, the CDC suggests grocery stores increase their stock of "high-quality" fruits and vegetables and encourages states to form food policy councils that evaluate the access to fresh produce.

It also suggests schools provide more fruits and vegetables in cafeterias and vending machines.

A few recipes that we made:

Hans’ Salad

Throw any of the following ingredients together, chopped into small pieces

Bok Choy

Pickled cucumbers

Onions

Collard greens

Roman lettuce

Tomatoes

Avocado

Rutabaga

Jicama

Carrots

Tomato, Avocado and Almond Salad by Shelly

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1-2 cups diced avocados

1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup chopped celery

4 Tbls chopped green onion

4 Tbls chopped cilantro

2 Tbls fresh lemon juice

1 tsp agave

1 Tbls Nutritional yeast (optional)

Dash of cayenne (optional)

¼ tsp sea salt

Mix together and enjoy

And just a regular salad with Ranch dressing and a Tomato Basil vinaigrette dressing.

Fried Pickles

I know, it sounds really weird. That is what I thought when I saw them on the menu at The Garden restaurant in Salt Lake. I was there with some friends and they intrigued us enough to get an order of them and try them. They were SO good! I was pleasantly surprised. The waitress shared the secret with us of how they are made and I immediately thought, "I could totally healthify that!", so I did. Here is the recipe. You have got to try this one.

Fried Pickles

Batter
2 cups spelt flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup Sucanat
1 jar pickle juice
2 tsp dill weed
enough water to make pancake batter consistency

Dredge
3/4 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup corn starch

Coconut oil for frying
1 jar pickles (I used the refrigerated kind, not the stuff in the isle by the olives. They have way less preservatives in them. An even better choice would be to use Bubbies pickled cucumbers. I didn't have the money to spend on them right at that time, so I settled for second best)

Mix batter ingredients together and Dredge ingredients together. Slice the pickles into spears. Heat the coconut oil to 350 degrees. Dip the pickles into the dredge and then into the batter then place into the oil. Cook for about 30 seconds or until it looks cooked and then flip over to cook other side. Can dip into this ranch dressing. This recipe will do the whole bottle of pickles. You may want to half it for a smaller family. We had plenty and we even shared with friends.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I got this original recipe off of allrecipes and changed it a bit to fit my needs better.

2 1/2 cups whole wheat or spelt flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 Tbls ground flax seed
4 Tbls water
(you could use two eggs in place of the flax and water)
1 cup Sucanot
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup coconut or olive oil
3/4 cup apple juice concentrate, thawed
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup water (could use milk, or almond milk)
3 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
1 cup shredded carrots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. mix all dry ingredients together, then add the wet. Lastly add the zucchini and carrots and mixed until just moistened. Bake for 35-45 min or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Serve plain, or add this simple frosting recipe from Robyn, at greensmoothiegirl.com

1/2 cup powdered sucanot (if you don't have powdered sucanot just put sucanot into a coffee grinder and make it)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup water

My boys at this up like crazy! They loved it and I didn't mind so much letting them eat it!

Healthified Doughnut Drops

(This is a post that I posted on my family blog a long time ago. I forgot about it until I was looking through my blog the other day and saw it. I thought I would transfer it over here and share)
My neighbor posted these on her blog the other day and I have been wanting to make them ever since I saw her site! I had to healthify them a little bit also to fit our needs, but they turned out beautifully!

Healthified Doughnut Drops
(Check out the link above for the original recipe to get great ideas on how to make these when in a hurry.)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat or Spelt flour
1 1/2 Tbls vital wheat gluten
1/3 C. sucanat
2 tsp. aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. water, almond milk or rice milk (I used water)
2 Tbs. cocount oil, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg or egg substitute using 1 Tbls ground flax or chia seed and two Tbls water mixed together and allowed to sit and make a gel.
Coconut oil for frying

Mix all ingredients together to form a dough. In a large saucepan, heat 2 to 3 inches oil to 375º. When oil is heated, drop five or six doughnuts into hot oil and fry for 2 to 3 minutes per side to a deep golden brown. I used my small cookie scoop to drop them in the oil. Drain on paper towels. If you like you can top the dounuts with powdered sucanat or drizzle honey or agave over the top of them. It would also be fun to roll them in some agave and then some chopped nuts and/or shredded unsweetened coconut. We just ate them plain and they were delicious and plenty sweet!

Sour Cream

I have looked for a good alternative for sour cream for a while. I have listed here some that work for me. My favorite is the macadamia nut. It actually has the sour flavor of sour cream along with the right color and very close texture. It is more expensive to make then either of the other two however, so there is a trade off. If you click on the title of each recipe it will take you to the original site that I got the recipe from, except for the almond sour cream, I am not sure where that one came from, sorry.

Macadamia nut sour cream

1 cup macadamia nuts, soaked for 6 hours or longer

• 3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Pinch Celtic sea salt
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups water (or less)

Measure all ingredients -- macadamia nuts, unsweetened coconut flakes, lemon juice, Celtic sea salt, apple cider vinegar and water into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Stop to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula.

Note: The amount of water can differ depending on the soaked nuts and coconut moisture. Start with a small amount of water and add as needed for the desired consistency of smooth sour cream.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Sunflower Seed Sour Cream

1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup water
5+ Tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove pressed or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Place ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Almond Sour Cream

½ C almonds

½ - ¾ C water

¼ tsp non salt veggie salt

Dash of garlic powder

Blend all together

Turn blender to low and ass 1-1 ¼ C sunflower/avocado/safflower oil thicken

Add: 1 Tbsp lemon

If you want it to last longer add ¼ tsp apple cider vinegar

I am being daring and bold these days!

So, I am starting to get a little bored with some of the food that I have been making lately. Notice I said the food I have been "Making", not eating. I never bore of eating any of the delicious recipes that I have, but I really am not looking forward to making them lately. I decided that I need a change of pace for a while. Maybe it is because summer is upon us. I don't know. Anyhow, I decided that I was going to get daring and try healthifing some of my own recipes rather then using other peoples that are already tried, tested and fabulous! I know, crazy huh? I don't know what has gotten into me! Well, I tried one the other day and it actually turned out pretty good! I thought I would share.

Curried Veggies

1 medium green bell pepper, cut into medium chunks
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into medium chunks
1 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds
1 small onion, halfed and then quartered
1 Tbls ground curry powder
2 tsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sea salt
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 can coconut milk
2 cans pineapple chunks in juice, drained
1 cup raw whole peanuts
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
Brown Rice

Prepare rice. Mix together curry, cornstarch, ginger and salt. Add veggies a little olive oil and spices to a large skillet. Saute veggies for 2 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and pineapple chunks. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until sauce thickens. Add peanuts and coconut right before serving. Serve over rice.

Amish Baked Oatmeal

I got this recipe from my friend Ceri. My kids LOVE it! Sorry I don't have a picture. Every time I make it, it gets eaten before I remember to take one. I will try to post one next time I make it.

Amish Baked Oatmeal

3 cups rolled old fashioned oats
1 cup sucanat ( I used about 2/3 cup and it was still sweet enough)
2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk (rice, coconut, almond) or water. I used water and it turned out great
2 eggs or 2 Tbls ground flax in 6 Tbls water
1/2 cups melted coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup dried cranberries, or other fruit

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything but fruit. Stir in fruit. Pour into 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes. You can use any kind of fruit; frozen blueberries, peaches, raisins, etc. When using frozen fruit do a layer of fruit and put te oatmeal mixture on top. You can also top it with chopped nuts, dried coconut, ground flax seed or chia seed.

"Are you like, vegan or something?"

I get this question a lot these days. So here is my answer. We have been slowly changing our diets over the last 1 1/2 years. We have cut out meat and dairy along with many other dietary changes. We do have cheese occasionally at home and meat on Sundays when we eat at my Moms. We do have organic range feed eggs sometimes also, but mostly for baking things that don't work well with flax. We do eat yogurt and I do make it, mostly because it is cheaper than buying it, but also because I can control better what is in it. I tried to make kiefer, but it was too much babysitting for me at this point in my life.

People always want to know if it is hard on my kids, if I think it is too extreme, and if it is making a difference. My kids are 2, 5 and 7. It has made a huge difference in our lives. We dont really get sick and when we do it only lasts for a day or two unlike our friends who get the same thing and get it much worse. We also have more energy. I was on several medications for hormone problems and for other such things and I now am off every single one and I feel great! I actually have a regular period for the first time in my LIFE! My kids behavior has changed, especially my son that we thought had ADHD, but really was just because we were putting bad stuff in his body. I don't think that it is extreme at all. I think that it is smart and a healthy way to live. Starting when your kids are young will be more beneficial for them and will make it easier to allow them to make good life long choices.

So, why do I do this? People are becoming more and more aware of the hormones and antibiotics that are in meat, (check out the movie "Food Inc." for more info about this, it is fabulous!) and some are making adjustments accordingly, but it is important to remember that it is not just the hormones and antibiotics in meat and dairy that is not good for our bodies. Animal protein is hard for our bodies to digest. It effects our colon, kidneys, bones (due to loss calcium through our urine), liver and many other organs. It takes a lot of energy from us because it as to work our organs so much harder. For more information on this, The China Study is a great book.

Milk and eggs are the best source of animal proteins as they have the best match of our amino acids, more so than meat. Including these foods in our diets minimally is very good for us. I believe that yogurt (or Keifer) is one of the best ways because not only is it a good source of amino acids, but it can be digested easier because of the live active cultures in it. Our bodies only need 5-6% (relative to total calorie intake) of dietary protein to replace the amino acids that our body looses. Most of America gets well beyond that and take in about 15-16%. I believe that moderation is the key, but many people do not know what moderation means for their bodies. Many people eat animal protein at every meal (eggs for breakfast, a turkey sandwich for lunch and something with hamburger or chicken in it for dinner, not to mention the milk they drink throughout the day) and think that they are being moderate when in actuality that is way too much protein for our bodies. Protein is the most important of all the nutrients in our bodies, but this has been misinterpreted by our society that more is better. People also tend to believe that "quality" proteins, like meat and dairy, are better than "lower quality" plant proteins, when in fact that is not true at all.

The fact is that people need to educate themselves about food and their bodies, no matter what kind of diet they have. Being vegan or vegetarian in and of it self is not necessarily a healthy diet. You need to know about food and how it effects your body and incorporate all aspects of a healthy lifestyle into your way of eating.