Healthy Recipes and Food

JoAnn and I are not trained nutritionists, nor are vegans or vegetarians, nor are we specialists in any of the science fields, (except perhaps parenthood - LOL! We managed to raise three great children - a girl and two boys); and we certainly did not start out on this healthy food quest, more than 30 years ago, as a way to make money.

Rather, like many of you, we were, and are, deeply concerned about ours and our children's (and grandchildren's) health.

So, all those years ago, we began searching for foods that were healthy which we could eat and feel good about for our children (and now our grandchildren).

We began reading the labels on foods in the grocery stores, and we were shocked and dismayed at the contents in so many of the name brand foods we had been buying. We could not believe our eyes to see so many of them laced with growth hormones, anti-biotics, preservatives and other poisons. To say the least, we were shocked!

Hence, we have spent a lot of time, effort, energy and money during the past thirty plus years searching for good healthy foods, organically produced, void of growth hormones, anti-biotics, preservatives and other toxic poisons which do us more harm than good, so that we could create recipes for meals, desserts and snacks for our family that we consider at least mostly healthy.

Note: You will find, however, in these pages a few recipes that are not really all that healthy, but are really, really good, and are created using foods that are not full of toxins! Feel free to overlook these if you wish.

Our objective with this site is to provide you with mostly delicious, healthy recipes for you and your family to try and enjoy; and hopefully from these you will begin to experiment with your own healthy recipes, and then, be kind enough to share them on this site for others to try!

If you are like me, you like food! I enjoy eating - plain and simple! I doubt there are many people in the world who enjoy the art of eating as much as I! So for me eating healthy is important.

We encourage you to try our recipes, and add your own recipes to our site for others to try. Together we can build a huge site that provides good quality, healthy recipes for all to enjoy.

As we further develop this web site, we will be adding areas for our customers to communicate with us, add comments, product reviews, and possibly even a BLOG area to discuss healthy eating issues of concern to us all.

We aren't the only ones who think eating healthy is important. Here is an extract from an article written by William Rawls, M.D., Founder of the Vital Plan. Here, Dr. Rawls explains that food is the # 3 cause of disease and ill health among people. Dr. Rawls prescribes natural foods, supplements, and diet for his patients whenever possible to alleviate health problems rather than the typical drugs dispensed by regular doctors:

Disease Cause #3: Food

Roughly 70% of concerns associated the average America diet can, in some way, be tied to wheat, corn, and other refined grain products. Excessive glucose, primarily from refined sugar and commercially processed forms of wheat and corn (starch and corn syrup), is the worst offender. Refined oils and fats (predominantly from corn and soy) associated with processed food products and fried foods come in as a close second. Grain-fed sources of meat, eggs and dairy are closing in behind.

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Living in the Garden of Eden. The average American diet is the antithesis of healthy. Not only is it saturated with toxic levels of glucose and oxidized fat, it is almost completely devoid of fiber, antioxidants, enzymes and a host of other disease-preventing factors present in a healthy diet. Ironically, healthy food is more available than ever before in the history of mankind. We are living right in the middle of the Garden of Eden, and to be well and gain everything that life has to offer, you must learn how to take advantage of it. Converting to a healthy diet means embracing variety and flavor, rather than being driven by the taste of sweet. It also means embracing life, because eating better food opens doors to better health and new life experiences.

If you are really sincere about being healthy, fast food and processed foods have got to go. The easiest way to restrict dietary glucose is by cutting out all processed forms of wheat and corn and avoiding all refined sugar. Junk food and fast food have to go. Most items from a package need to go. Bread and pasta should go on the occasional list. Whole grain bread and pasta offer a little more nutrition, but still are packed full of “fast-release” glucose—they go on the list also. Safe sugar substitutes include Stevia, agave nectar and raw honey.

Impaired Glucose Metabolism. Any elevation in glucose should be managed aggressively for optimal health. The first step is reducing glucose intake. Alpha lipoic acid and glutathione both help restore normal glucose metabolism and reverse some of the toxic effects of excessive glucose. Another supplement called Level Right contains a combination of safe natural ingredients for improving glucose metabolism if diet alone is not enough. Drugs are the next step after that.

More than half of the population over age 40 has some degree of impaired glucose metabolism. It is easy to find out if this applies to you! Obtain an inexpensive glucometer from any pharmacy and start checking blood glucose levels. Check fasting first thing in the morning and then 2 hours after a meal (especially after a high carbohydrate meal). If levels are consistently above 100, you are impaired. Even fasting levels consistently above 95 are concerning. For optimal health, average blood glucose should remain under 100! Food sensitivities. Even healthy foods can cause problems in some people. Sensitivities to certain foods can cause a wide range of symptoms and contribute to chronic disease. Individuals suffering from chronic allergies, chronic sinusitis or gastrointestinal dysfunction should consider following the Detoxification/Elimination Protocol or undergoing food sensitivity testing. Most common food sensitivities include wheat, diary, corn, yeast, tomatoes, citrus, eggs, bananas, potatoes, pork, beef and brassica vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli); however, sensitivities can occur to almost any food.

A word on multivitamins. Recognizing deficiencies present in the average American diet, most people try to compensate by taking a multivitamin. Unfortunately, most synthetic multivitamin products are no better than the processed food they eat every day. Because synthetic vitamins are not in a readily usable from, they have the potential to do more harm than good—a fact that is substantiated by clinical studies. The choice to take a multivitamin should be a careful one. It should consist only of vitamins in natural state and organic forms of minerals. There are actually very few good choices on the market. Many multivitamins masquerade as “natural” or “organic,” but still contain synthetic components. On www.thevitalplan.com you will find only vitamin supplements that are truly natural.

The most important vitamin for everyone to consider is vitamin D. With most of the population living indoors, vitamin D deficiencies are common, especially in winter. Vitamin D is not only important for bone health, but also is essential for optimal immune function. Average daily recommendations are 2000 IU daily during winter (3000-4000 IU daily for darker skinned individuals). By William Rawls, MD.