Disease Proof : Disease Proof : Health & Nutrition News & Commentary : Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Lemon Zest Spinach

1 1/4 pounds fresh organic spinach or 4 bags organic baby spinach
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 tablespoons pine nuts
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Steam spinach and garlic until spinach is just. Serves 4.

Spinach and Brussels Sprouts Delight

16-ounces Brussels sprouts
14-ounces organic baby spinach
1/4 cup water
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 14.5-ounce can chopped tomatoes (no salt)
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman’s VegiZest

Steam Brussels sprouts and spinach together for 8 minutes or until Brussels sprouts are almost tender. Meanwhile, water sauté garlic and onion in a large pot until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts and spinach, along with chopped tomatoes and VegiZest. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Serves 4.

Athlete's Green Fuel

1 banana
8 ounces romaine lettuce
4 ounces organic baby spinach
1 ounce raw sunflower seeds
1 ounce pine nuts
1 ounce raw cashews
3 teaspoons Dr. Fuhrman's Black Fig Vinegar

Blend all ingredients together. Serves 1.

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Garbanzo Guacamole

1/2 15-oz can garbanzo beans, no salt, drained
1 clove garlic, halved
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 avocado, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 fresh green chili peppers, minced
1 cup chopped tomato
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce
assorted raw vegetables, cut up

In food processor, puree beans and garlic with lemon juice. Add avocado and chili peppers, pulsing until mixture is chunky. Remove to bowl and stir in tomato, green onions, and liquid aminos. Serve with raw vegetables. Serves 2.

Hot Pepper Salsa

3 large plum tomatoes, cut in fourths
1 medium onion, cut in fourths
4 cloves garlic, cut in half
1 14-ounce can whole or chopped tomatoes
1 jar roasted red peppers, low sodium, in vinegar (drained)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 long hot pepper

Roast tomatoes, onions and garlic in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place in a food processor. Add rest of ingredients and pulse to chop until desired consistency. Serves 10.

Cashew-Currant Dressing/Dip

1/4 cup raw cashews or 2 tablespoons raw cashew butter
1/3 cup soy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup dried currants or raisins

Blend the cashews or cashew butter with soy milk and applesauce in a high powered blender until smooth. Mix in currents or raisins. Serves 4.

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It seems that eating foods like vegetables and fish leaves a much smaller carbon footprint than meat and dairy products. More from Rachel Ehrenberg of ScienceNews:

For the average U.S. consumer, getting the equivalent of one-seventh of a week’s calories from chicken, fish or vegetables instead of red meat or dairy will do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than buying all local, all the time, the researchers say. Crunching the numbers revealed that delivery to the consumer accounts for only 1 percent of red meat–associated emissions. But the production path to red meat and dairy products is clouded with nitrous oxide and methane emissions, mainly from fertilizer use, manure management and animal digestion.

“Methane and nitrous oxide production are huge in agriculture,” says the study’s first author Christopher Weber of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. These greenhouses gases are often left out of similar analyses, which have tended to focus solely on carbon or energy use. “That misses a huge part of the picture,” Weber says.

Weber, who conducted the study with colleague, H. Scott Matthews, notes that they aren’t trying to downplay the benefits of buying local. “I shop locally,” he says. “But there’s been so much emphasis on food miles. We felt it was important to look at the whole life cycle.”

Using data from the U.S. departments of Commerce, Agriculture, Transportation and other sources, Weber and Matthews modeled the total greenhouse gas emissions generated in making and moving all sorts of foods from cereals to fish to cheese. The work, to appear in the May 15 Environmental Science & Technology, paints a broad brush, cautions Weber. Because the model uses Commerce Department data, the food categories are defined by Commerce Department food sectors. So while cheese and milk are considered separately, fruits and vegetables are put in the same category.

You don’t have to be a “hippie” or a “tree hugger” to be mindful of how your lifestyle impacts the planet. I’m happy I don’t eat meat or dairy.

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I'm a creature of habit. This is what I eat for breakfast most mornings. Make it yourself and let me know what you think:

Gerry’s Chocolate Pudding

1 ripe bananas
1/2 teaspoon chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon raw sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon raw sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground flaxseed
1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 1/2 cup frozen spinach 
1 date
handful of frozen blueberries
1 carrot
splash of acai berry juice (optional)
unsweetened almond milk or unsweetened soy milk to blend
4 heaping teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 ripe avocado

Blend until smooth. Serves 1.

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Egg and Vegetable Scramble

2 eggs
2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk
1/2 medium bell pepper, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup diced fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup diced fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman’s VegiZest or other no salt seasoning
1 teaspoon Spike or other no salt seasoning
4 ounces organic spinach, coarsely chopped or baby spinach

Beat eggs with soy milk. Water sauté the peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, VegiZest, and Spike until vegetables are tender. Add spinach to wilt. Cook most water out of vegetables, then add eggs and scramble until cooked through. Serves 1.

Gazpacho Summer Soup

1 large cucumber, peeled and sliced into large pieces
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into large pieces
1 14-ounce diced or chopped tomatoes, no salt added
1 cup roasted red peppers, in vinegar, low sodium (drained)
2 cups tomato juice, low sodium
1 12-ounce jar mild or medium salsa, low sodium
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman’s VegiZest
cucumber slices (optional)

Place cucumbers and fresh red bell peppers in a food processor. Pulse until chopped in small pieces. Add canned tomatoes and roasted red peppers. Pulse a couple of more times until finely chopped. Add tomato juice and rest of ingredients and pulse until well mixed. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours for flavors to mingle. Before serving, garnish with cucumber slices, if desired. Serve chilled. Serves 3.

Chard and Vegetable Medley

1/2 cup water, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman’s VegiZest
1 teaspoon Spike no salt seasoning
4 small yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 bunches Swiss chard, red and green, coarsely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Place garlic, onion, VegiZest, Spike, and yellow squash in a large soup pot with 1/4 cup water. Bring to a high simmer. Cook until onion is soft, about 3 minutes. Add remaining vegetables, along with another 1/4 cup water, and simmer covered for about 12 minutes or until tender. Drain vegetables, reserving liquid. Add balsamic vinegar to liquid and reduce over high heat until syrupy. Pour over vegetables. Serves 4.

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