PinkemPower Blog

If you are getting into raw food, like I am,   you will need to purchase a dehydrator.

If you already have one of the round ones, go ahead and use it, but you will not get very good results with those.   A good dehydrator blows the warm air across the food not up through the food.  The fan needs to be located at the rear of the dehydrator, not at the top or bottom.   For a long time the only dehydrator that had the fan in the rear was the Excalibur Dehydrator.  This is the dehydrator that is recommended in all the raw food books–but—they are expensive.   But the Excalibur has competition.  A new dehydrator, called the Good 4U is modeled on the Excalibur—but at significantly lower cost.

I have been using my Good 4 U dehydrator for almost a month and I love it!  It comes with a 40 hour timer, mesh sheets & teflex sheets.

I highly recommend this dehydrator and you can see more information about it at and order one at:www.therawdiet.com.

If I were teaching a class on nutrition, I would make the book, “Skinny Bitch” mandatory reading! While I had certainly heard of this book, I never thought to read it because, well, I was already a skinny bitch!  I stumbled upon it in a used bookstore, and, out of curiosity, I cracked  the cover (and bought the book!)   Oh my god!! This book is fabulous!  This is not just a book for any woman who wants to loose weight and look great (in other words who wants to become a skinny bitch) it is a book that every person who eats should read!

These 2 authors are right on in how they explain how foods make you fat or skinny, healthy or sick.  They also explain how we have all been manipulated by food companies and our government into eating foods that are actually dangerous.   Be warned though, their approach is “tough love”.  (I also think this would be a particularly good book for teenagers, to get them started on the right eating path. )

I don’t know what I’d say to any woman who reads this book and does NOT change her diet— but I do know what the authors  say— they say she’s a “stupid bitch!”

This month’s issue of the British Journal of Nutrition reported on the results of a study showing that animal protein (meat, eggs and dairy) has a negative impact on bone health. This confirms other studies showing that women who did NOT eat meat or dairy have the lowest rates of osteoporosis.

Commercials paid for by the Dairy Association stating that milk builds strong bones are not true.   While milk does contain calcium, it has an unhealthy ratio of calcium to magnesium (too much calcium).  Milk is also an animal protein.  Both of those actually cause bone loss.

Many women will unfortunately discover they have osteoporosis, a loss of bone density which can lead to fractures.  Drugs like Boniva do not address the root causes of osteoporosis (sorry Sally Field) and actually appear to “work” by creating a false bone density reading by preventing the osteoclasts from clearing out old bone tissue.   While this drug, which has serious side effects, creates a higher bone density reading, it does not lead to fewer fractures and stronger bones.

Osteoporosis is caused by several things:

• Vitamin D deficiency
• diet high in animal protein
• unhealthy calcium/magnesium ratio (found in dairy)
• diet low in green leafy vegetables (which are high in calcium and magnesium in the correct ratios)
• hormonal imbalance

The easiest and surest way to avoid or reverse osteoporosis is through a plant based diet—not milk or drugs.

Yes, some doctors do understand the link between nutrition and the prevention or promotion of disease.  In fact, there is a whole organization of doctors devoted to educating people about  the importance of a healthy diet.  This organization of highly respected doctors is called the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (www.pcrm.org) .  They believe that it is irresponsible to practice medicine and deny the role of nutrition in either preventing or promoting diseases.

So what does this group of physicians recommend for a healthy diet?  A vegan diet.  That’s right.  A vegan diet is a plant-based diet void of animal protein (no meat, no dairy) and full of whole foods;  fruits,  vegetables and whole grains.

Why do I keep posting about the benefits of a vegan diet? Because I know that convincing you to drastically change your diet is a hard sell.     Through my research I know this is the most important thing anyone can do (breast cancer or no breast cancer).  I know how important it is.  I have made all the dietary changes I am asking you to make.  Some were not easy—like giving up cheese—I thought I’d never be able to do that.  But now, I don’t even miss it.   The raw food thing is another learning experience.  But I am in the process of converting a percentage of my diet to eating raw foods and soon will start posting about that whole process.

I don’t remember who said it, but I found it to be true, ” It is easier to get a man to change his religion than to change his diet.”

Many women with breast cancer have gone through chemotherapy.  I can’t imagine anything harder than that.  But yet, these women will not even consider changing their diet.  I know women who have a list of chronic health problems, are on several medications and are physically miserable every day, and yet, they are not willing to change their diet to improve their health.

Why the resistance to change?   Many are afraid of the criticism they will get from friends and family.  Many have had their doctors tell them that diet has nothing to do with their illness (these doctors are almost always wrong).   Many women say they don’t have the time to cook.   Many women get objections from spouses or children about any change in their diet.  But none of these reasons matter when your health is at stake.   It is simply a matter of making the decision to change what you eat.  Once you decide, the rest is easy—and delicious!

I really look forward to my monthly issue of Body & Soul Magazine.  This magazine is full of information on how to lead a healthy life—mentally and physically.  It has information on the health benefits of specific foods and herbs, as well as recipes  (many of which meet my criteria for being “healthy”—or at least are easily adaptable).  Body & Soul magazine, as the name implies, has information that is helpful  to your entire being.  Like all   Martha Stewart publications,  this is an inspiring magazine.

More of our wheatgrass growing progress. (See previous posts on the health benefits of wheatgrass juice)

Here is our 6 tray sprouter/grower ( the kit or ready-made sprouter is available at www.growwheatgrass.com).  This image was taken several days ago.  It gives you an idea of what a simple wheatgrass “farm” looks  like. This will grow enough wheatgrass for 2 people to have 2 oz of juice a day.

HARVEST DAY!

How exciting ( to us at least).  We harvested and juiced our first tray of wheatgrass.  We had been purchasing wheatgrass already grown from www.freshcafeandmarket.com, but wanted to grow our own. (If you don’t want to grow your own then I would definitely buy it from them!)

So what is juicing wheatgrass?  You need a special wheatgrass juicer, either a hand crank model (pictured) or an electric one.  These are masticating juicers that will not heat up and therefore will not destroy   all the live enzymes in the juice.  It takes a lot of grass to get 1 oz of juice.  Some people don’t like the taste of wheatgrass juice.  If you find that you don’t, then you can mix it in with a smoothie or mix it into orange juice, as long as you drink it right after juicing it.  Here’s to your health!!

Because I am drinking 2 oz of wheatgrass juice every day, I can eliminate most of the supplements I take (because the wheatgrass contains all the essential vitamins,minerals, amino acids, enzymes and more!!) It is ALWAYS better to get your vitamins and minerals in a natural plant form than from supplements when you can.   Wheatgrass juice is a POWERFUL anti-cancer food.

Dr. Oz recently had a show about the 5 worst things to buy at the grocery store, ie:  the 5 things you should never  eat.

I wasn’t able to watch the show, so I went on his Web site to see if he and I agreed.  Pretty much!  You can visit his web site yourself at www.doctoroz.com.

Here’s a summary:

NEVER buy these things:

1) Simple sugars (also called simple carbohydrates) and bad fats

These would be all sugars, anything made with white flour, crackers, ice cream, sugary cereals, cookies, cakes, pies, chips &  sodas (even diet).   Dairy products fall into this category too, having both simple sugars and bad fats.

DO buy complex carbohydrates like 100% whole grains and whole fruits and vegetables.

2) All processed meats

Personally, I would say all meats, but absolutely no processed meats.  These include all lunch meats, sausages, frozen entrees, hot dogs, etc.  These all contain dangerous levels of cancer causing nitrates.

3) FAKE health foods

These include any food with a label reading “low fat” and “contains whole grains”.  ” Low fat” equals higher in sugar content and chemicals (to make up for the taste of the fat). Low fat dairy is higher in dangerous animal proteins.

“Contains Whole Grains” means mostly white flour (a simple sugar) with a little bit of whole grain.

I would add to this category labels such as “All Natural”.  This label is meaningless, as sugar, flour, etc is considered “natural” (so is dirt–do you want to eat that?)

4) Most  Canned Foods– and I would add– ALL  processed foods

Most canned foods—and all processed foods for that matter— are high in sodium.   The type of salt use in almost all processed and canned foods is refined salt.  Refined salts have had ALL of the beneficial minerals removed leaving behind only the sodium (39%) and  chloride (60%).

By stripping away the 10 other complimentary minerals, refined salt becomes a toxic product.  Only Celtic Sea Salt, or Redmond’s  Real Salt should be eaten.

5) Ingredients you can’t pronounce

If you eliminate all processed foods, you won’t have to worry about this one, as you will automatically eliminate these dangerous chemical ingredients that have no place in a healthy diet.

So, if you have been skeptical of what I have been saying about food, maybe you will believe Dr.  Oz!

This cake is amazing! Easy to make, moist and almost good for you!

Amazing Vegan Apple Cake

I made some changes to the original recipe and changed the recipe to make it vegan, so here’s what I  use for the egg substitute:

1 TBSP chia seeds soaked 15 minutes in 3 tbsp water (This is called chia gel)

See blog post on Chia Seeds

Ingredients:

4 TBSP Earth Balance vegan “butter” (not Smart Balance)

1/2 cup agave

2 tsp stevia

chia gel (as above to replace 1 egg)

1/4 cup unsweetened soy or almond milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/8 cup whole wheat flour (not graham flour)

1 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp baking pwd

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3 apples, peeled and shredded

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 335 degrees

“butter” bottom of 8″ square baking pan

Cream together “butter”, agave and stevia

Beat together chia gel, soy or almond milk and vanilla until foamy.

Add chia gel mixture to butter and agave mixture.  Blend together.

Mix dry ingredients together then add to wet mixture.  Stir in apples and nuts.  Mix thoroughly. Spread in baking pan. (You can top with sliced almonds)  Bake 40-50 minutes until cake starts pulling away from the pan at the edges.

Decadent Cashew Cream Topping

soak 1/2 cup raw cashews for at least an hour–no longer than 8 hours.

Drain and rinse cashews.  Place in a Vita Mix blender and add 1 tsp vanilla, 1/8 tsp almond extract, 1/4 cup agave, 1 tsp stevia, 1/8 cup water.  Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy.  Serve spooned over cake.  Yum!!

OK, by now it should be obvious that I love to cook.  Well, actually I love good food, therefore, I love to cook.  But, I know that not every woman likes to cook.  So, if you are not the cooking type, or if you just need to throw together something fast but healthy—go with greens.

Keep in your frig fresh greens; these can be spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, kale, bok choy,  swiss chard and beets and beet greens.   A mix of several of these is best. (Hint: buy some of those green bags–they really do keep vegetables fresh longer!)

Saute a diced onion &  some garlic.  Add the washed and chopped greens (and the beets if using beet greens) .  Add a healthy splash of red wine or balsamic vinegar, some salt and pepper, a pinch of red pepper flakes and water or vegetable broth and simmer until greens are tender (not mushy!).  You can add a can of garbanzo beans if you like.

Serve over brown rice, whole wheat pasta, or  polenta.

A quick and very healthy meal!

This recipe is SOOOOOO worth all the work (it’s really not that much work).  I thought the combination of tomatoes and ginger sounded weird—but it is fantastic!

Sweet Potato Rosti with Tofu and Tomato Ginger Sauce

Step 1: Rinse and drain a 1 lb block of regular tofu (firm or extra firm—NOT silken tofu).  Wrap tofu in a towel and place in frig all day to absorb liquid.

Step 2: make the marinade

4 TBSP tamari ,  dark soy sauce or Bragg’s liquid aminos

2 TBSP agave

4 garlic cloves, crushed

3″ piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and grated

2 tsp sesame oil

Step 3: Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes.  Place in marinade and let sit for at least an hour

Step 4: Parboil 4 sweet potatoes, peeled (I used yams).  Let cool.

Don’t let them get too soft.

Step 5: Remove tofu from the marinade and place on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper) and bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes, turning cubes occasionally.  Bake until golden and crisp on sides.

Step6: Make tomato/ginger sauce.  Place 6 tomatoes in a blender and add the marinade left over from the tofu. (You should have about 1/4 cup left over.  If you don’t, then mix up 1/4 batch of the marinade mixture. ) Add 1 tbsp olive oil. Blend until smooth.  Place sauce in a sauce pan and heat on low.

Step 7: Make potato rostis.  Grate the parboiled (now cooled) sweet potatoes. Add black pepper, red pepper flakes, and a little sea salt.  Mix and form into patties.  Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil* in a non-stick pan** (cast iron is best) and fry on both sides until browned and crispy.  Note:  These will not really hold together very well—no big deal!)

Step 8: Assembly: When the potato rostis are done, place 2 on each plate, top with tofu cubes and spoon tomato/ginger sauce on top. See picture at the top of the page.

* see blog entry on coconut oil–under Things we LOVE!

**regular non-stick pans should not be used. When heated, the non-stick coating becomes toxic.  Seasoned cast iron is naturally non-stick.

These are so good I had to make them for dinner 3 days in a row!