Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Anti-inflammatory cooking and Me!!

When you are asked by the person who is guiding you through your health issues and aging concerns to go on a anti-inflammatory diet what do you say?  YES! And your life style with eating begins to change, now I am not saying I am perfect when it comes to being "strict" with what I put into my mouth but I will tell you I am giving it a pretty darn good try.

I was talking to my acupuncturist about how I could only eat so many raw veges with out ranch dressing, Lol (she really didn't laugh). Since you aren't suppose to have ranch dressing how about trying eggplant dressing, she says?. I don't recall ever having egg plant what really do I have to loose, I was pleasantly surprised how inexpensive egg plant was, since I could just be throwing it away, right.

I have to say Roasted Eggplant Dip has become my go to dip for everything. It is one of the 3 foods or recipes I have experienced for the 1st time since I have taken this road and enjoyed. The 2nd food is Hemp Seeds! Where have you been all my life? Amazing stuff, I can't believe my son never mentioned hemp seeds to me before this, but in all honesty I probably wouldn't of tried them until now:P)..I was really curious about hemp seeds so I found an article that pretty much told me all I needed to know. The article is attached with the website at the end of this post. The 3rd food/recipe is mashed cauliflower, omg I love mash potatoes and I knew I wouldn't be seeing them anytime soon. After trying mashed cauliflower I am sold, tastes and feels just like mashed potatoes but GOOD FOR YOU. I didn't want to ruin the good in the cauliflower by adding butter so I made a "balsamic vinegar reduction" drizzled a small amount on the mashed cauliflower, BAM!

Try this you won't be sorry;  Roasted Eggplant Dip
- cut eggplant in half length wise
- cut slits in mean and slide pieces of garlic in
- Brush the meat with olive oil
- bake in over 400 between 40-60 minutes depends on size of egg plant 
- take out when flesh is soft
- scrape the meat into a food processor, discard skin
- add seasonings, i.e., red peppers flakes, pepper, mrs dash, cayenne, turmeric, lemon juice, etc. plus more olive oil as needed for consistency of the dip.
Dip keeps in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Delish 


 

Hemp seeds can contain up to 36% protein. In the 1950s, scientists worked to determine lab models for foods, the vegetable protein model was derived from hemp seed and was called edestin. The protein in hemp seed is comprised of approximately 65% of edestin and can be found only in hemp seed protein. Edestin aids digestion, is low in phosphorus and is considered the backbone of human cellular DNA. The other one third of hemp seed protein is Albumin, another high quality globulin protein similar to that found in egg whites.

One of the common arguments against hemp is that soy has a much higher total protein count than hemp seeds. But hemp seed protein is free of the tryspin inhibitors which block protein absorption that is found in abundance in soy. Hemp protein is also free of oligosaccharides found in soy, which cause stomach upset and gas.

Hemp protein contains all 20 known amino acids including the 8 essential and 2 semi-essential amino acids (EAAs) our bodies cannot produce. Proteins are considered complete when they contain all 9 essential amino acids in a sufficient quantity and ratio to meet the body's protein requirements. This makes hemp seeds perfect for vegans, vegetarians or anyone who is looking to reduce the meat content of their diet, hemp seed protein can supply all of the protein requirements without the bad fats in meat and without the stomach upset from soy.

This makes hemp seed the perfect high protein food. With a complete collection of amino acids, with ultimately the best digestibility of any vegetable protein, with the added bonus of Essential Fatty Acids, lacking the items found in soy that cause gas, hemp is truly the perfect vegetable source for a high protein food.

If you are looking for a high protein food for a high protein diet but you would rather not eat meat, or are not interested in bulking up on whey or soy, hemp as a high protein food is perfect for you. With just a couple of handfuls equalling a full days worth of protein, it is the ultimate high protein food.

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