Ok… I’ll admit it… I’m a big fan of flossing my teeth.  I know… this can be a polarizing thing.  A hygienist once was taken aback by my delight at receiving a take home floss package after my visit.  I get happy over small things.  Keeping floss in my purse is one of my simple pleasures.  Although this is generally accepted as a healthy habit, I realize that my exuberance for flossing can be taken as being a little Pollyanna-esque and severely dorky.  Thankfully, I embrace both my inner dork and Pollyanna.

But really…I find my gums are in their best shape when I floss daily.  I don’t know when I got into doing this regularly, but it must have come at the time when I finally understood that the concept of prevention applied to even small aspects of my general health.

I had a major sweet tooth as a kid, and into my early twenties, along with really lax dental care.  Unfortunately, the consequence was a good number of cavities that needed fillings during those years.  Orthodontics got my teeth looking nice and straight, but their quality of health was not good, and who knows what state my teeth would be in today if I didn’t start taking good care of them when I did.

The consequence of poor gum health is inflammation, which can leave gums looking red and puffy, feel tender, be more likely to recede, cause them to bleed easily and contribute to bad breath.  Prolonged gum inflammation over a the years can wear away the bone under the gum and lead to tooth loss.

Somewhere along the way I realized that a little thing like flossing would keep my gums strong and healthy, which in turn would impact the health of my teeth.  I started flossing and it just stuck as part of my routine.  Plus, I started eating much better, which reduced the impact of my diet on my dental health.

Put a few little healthy things together and the effect becomes amplified.  Isn’t that always the way?

With Spring on its way, and with me trying to stick to my New Years Resolution of keeping up healthy eating, I am inspired to share recipes over the next 3 Mondays that consist of those dark green leafy veggies that I sometimes have a tough time finding new ways to prepare.  Other than in soups, and eating them cooked on their own, the dark green leafy veggies like spinach, swiss chard, collard greens and kale can at times be hard to find recipes for.  In my search for new ways to cook them, I found many recipes call for adding some sort of flavoring meat to them.  But… in my habit of tweaking recipes… I came up with some great ways to cook them without the meat and adding great flavor to them.

Today’s veggie: Spinach.  Next week will be collard greens and the week after I’ll do kale.  Three different recipes… although with each one I can use any of the greens I’ll be writing about.  And… as always, these recipes are quick and healthy!  Enjoy!

SWEET SPINACH

This is a super fast recipe that yields a dish that is deliciously sweet because of the baby tomatoes and satisfying because of the fiber and substance that the white kidney beans add.  This one’s always a hit at our house!  

First… in a little olive oil and a splash of water, sauté washed, organic spinach leaves.

Next, add baby tomatoes…and cover with a lid.  Saute a little longer together until the tomatoes soften up.

Finally add white kidney beans to the pan.  Stir together and cook a little longer until the beans are heated.
Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

~ Vincent van Gogh

A cup of green tea a day will keep the doctor away!

Over the last few years, green tea has garnered a lot of attention.  Once again, a traditional drink, which as been part of the Asian culture for thousands of years, is being studied and found to be of great benefit.

Green tea contains a very high concentration of phytonutrients, known as flavonoids (specifically, catechins), which are even more powerful antioxidant agents than Vitamin C and E.  Antioxidants are so important because they are used by the body to heal damage, reduce inflammation and keep the cells in our body strong.  Damaged cells and inflammation are precursors for cancer, heart disease, arthritis, autoimmune conditions and other degenerative diseases.

It is believed that because of this rich amount of flavonoid content, this may be the reason why drinking green tea has been scientifically linked to a decrease in a number of different types of cancers: skin, breast, lung, colon, bladder and esophageal.

Also, green tea is a very powerful liver detoxifier.  It helps to support the liver’s ability to filter harmful chemicals out of our body.  Furthermore, green tea has been shown to help support healthy cholesterol levels and reduce the incidence of high blood pressure.

Studies have found that drinking 2-3 cups of green tea a day can have a therapeutic benefit.

I like to drink it freshly brewed organic green tea from a tea bag.  Green tea can be made from loose tea leaves, too, for all those tea purists out there.  :)  
Freshly brewed green tea will have the highest level of the beneficial phytonutrients mentioned compared to ready to drink teas or instant green tea drinks.

Green tea can be an acquired taste for some people, so if the tea tastes too strong… adding a little bit of raw unpasturized honey may help it be more palatable.

Bottoms up!

FIRST 5 MINUTES…

Sautee 1/2 onion + 3 diced bell peppers (about 3-4 cups) + 1 tomato

SECOND 5 MINUTES…

Boil 1 litre of water + 1 litre of fresh purred tomatoes, pure tomato juice or pure tomato sauce diluted down with a little water.

THIRD 5 MINUTES…

Combine the sautéed veggies with the boiled liquid.  Simmer a few minutes until well combined then purree with a hand mixer, in the blender or in the food processor.

And… Done.  Salt and pepper for taste…15 minutes!  Yippee!  I love it when a recipe is healthy, simple, tastes great and FAST!

I love pureed soups and this soup is slightly thick with the texture of the blended veggies.  It can be diluted down with a bit more water based on preference.

Optional: Throw in some cooked rice, cooked rice noodles, cooked quinoa or millet to bump up the heartiness of the soup and the fiber content.  Yum!

I LOVED this clip of Melissa explaining to Ellen what happened when she met Meryl Streep for the first time.  The Brad and Ang part is funny, too!  But I had a hardy LOL! moment when she talked about Meryl.  Could you imagine…Meryl Streep!!  LOL!  Enjoy it!

Here’s a healthy little thing that I like to keep as part of my first aid kid: Rescue Remedy.

Rescue Remedy is a natural, plant based, remedy that is available in a few different forms (liquid, spray, gum, lozenges) and can be taken by people of all ages in times of stress, anxiety or upset.  You can see why it would be a good part of any first aid kit.

When taken as directed it has no adverse effects, side effects, long term effects and is historically well tolerated by mostly everyone.  And, it is non-toxic if too much is accidentally given.

For it’s uses think…

- General stress and nervousness

- Anxiety, feeling overwhelmed

- Shock, Grief, Upset

- Sleep trouble

- To settle children who are tantruming, hyperactive or anxious

- Fainting

It’s one of the remedies that Naturopathic Doctors often recommend to people who need something during times of distress.  It’s best when taken in the moment.  It all depends on what the situation is, but for some people its enough to settle the system or take the edge off the upset they are feeling.  I’ve also recommended that it be kept in a purse, or in a pocket, for those who find themselves in need of stress support.

The range of preparations of the remedy makes it easy to use, too.  Being more a lover of classic preparations, I tend to favour the original Rescue Remedy in liquid form because I think it’s the most versatile.  It can be taken straight from the dropper in an instant for acute stress or it can be added to a bottle of water and sipped on through the day.

It’s a nifty little remedy that can be found EVERYWHERE now!  Health food stores, grocery stores, and some pharmacies carry Rescue Remedy.

Rescue remedy is a general remedy for acute stress and mild or temporary experiences with stress and anxiety.  This is not intended to treat chronic or lasting states of anxiety.

Licensed Naturopathic Doctors are trained to offer safe and effective natural solutions for people who struggle with anxiety based on their unique experience.  Visit with a Naturopathic Doctor to learn more.

I made these in my food dehydrator, but they can also be made in the oven.  Investing in a food dehydrator was something I did a few years ago when I was experimenting with some raw vegan concepts in my diet.  There’s a lot of neat things that can be made in a dehydrator other than beef jerky!  :)

Healthy fruit roll ups being one of them…. here’s how it went down…

I wanted to make apple, blueberry and raspberry fruit leather.

This time of year I used organic frozen blueberries and raspberries and thawed them.

I used 2 cups of fresh fruit.  Plus, 2 cups of dried apricots or prunes that were soaked in water.  The soaked dried fruit will help give the fruit leather some strength and hold it together.

Then I pureed the fresh fruit and dried fruit in my food processor.  Finally, I spread the puree over a lined dehydrator tray.

These were my combos:

Apple & Apricot

Blueberry & Prune

Raspberry and Apricot

Apples and 1 cup apricots + 1 cup prunes

I put them in the dehydrator at 140 F for 8 hours.  Towards the end, when I saw the fruit leather had solidified completely, I peeled it off the liner and placed it back on the rack, with the underside up to complete dehydrating.  The fruit leather is done once it’s no longer sticky, but still pliable.

And… here is the finished product!  They were a hit with the fam!

To store them, they can be sprinkled lightly with corn starch an stored in an airtight container or rolled up in saran wrap.  I’ll post a picture of the rolled up version soon!  Enjoy!

~ David Richo, from “The Five Things We Cannot Change” p.66 

“Sleeping Naked Is Green” is a book written by Vanessa Farquharson, a National Post journalist from Toronto.  She was working for the National Post when she grew increasingly curious about she could reduce her carbon foot print.  She acknowledges what we all know… respect the earth, pollute less, be more eco-friendly… but inspired by the Chinese proverb “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” she embarked on her project.  She did one thing every day to support the environment.  Some days the change was small, some days the change was big, but each change she made had to stick throughout her 365 day challenge.  It was a really intriguing experiment and I thought she chronicled it really well.  I can’t tell you how many times I laughed out loud and felt her pain as she tried to keep up the plan.

I loved this book!  Vanessa’s narrative of her adventure was honest, down to earth and hilarious in many parts.  It’s a great read and for anyone looking for inspiration on eco-friendly lifestyle ideas.