You are not supposed to be tired in the afternoon, you are supposed to be alive and vibrant.

This clip is from the Food Matters movie.

What you eat really does matter and it has a direct impact on your energy.

One of the things that they talk about in this segment is eating raw food vs. cooked.

I have personally been shooting for 80% raw foods at most meals for the last few weeks. It makes a noticeable difference.

In the video they talk about the benefit of eating at least 51% raw foods. That is just over half of the diet, eaten as raw foods.

One way to boost up your raw foods is to drink smoothies loaded with raw fruits and vegetables.

They also talk about how the soil is deficient and how food is shipped long distances to the grocery store.

One good way to get good fresh nutrition is by sprouting. You can’t get anymore locally grown than your own kitchen. I recently bought a large sprouting jar at the health food store. It makes more than double the amount of a regular sprouting jar. It’s great for keeping me well stocked in sprouts, especially handy in the winter, when fresh veggies are the most scarce.

Sprouting video page here.

I learned a lot from this video interview with Dr. Tom OBryan.

He says gluten can cause all kinds of problems from autoimmune to gut problems like irritable bowel. It is not just a gut problem.

The base of the food pyramid tells to eat lots of whole grains, but it may be time to rethink this strategy.

I don’t know if it really affects 7 out 0f 10 people, but Dr. Tom is the expert on gluten sensitivity, not me.

I like what Dr. Tom says, ” You should feel like a million bucks. If you don’t we are missing something.”

Check out the video for information about testing and learn more about gluten sensitivity and Celiac disease.

It may just be that that health problem you have is related to gluten intolerance.

This video gives us some great insight into the nutritional value of foods and calorie density.

We all know that junk foods are bad for us and the term superfoods, gives the impression of a high quality food that is going to do something good to the body, and maybe the mind and spirit too.

We would love to hear about your favorite super healthy food and maybe even the junk food that you hate the most.

Salads made with fresh herbs are my favorite superfood. See a list of info on salads and herbs here, special thanks to HerbFest.net I’m still getting a few fresh herbs out of my Carolina organic garden, even in this colder weather. Herbs are great for growing indoors in a pot also.

Junk Food Characteristics

• Low nutrient density
• High calorie density
• Low fiber
• High glycemic index rating
• Processed

Superfood Characteristics

• High nutrient density
• Low calorie density
• Low glycemic index
• Natural, organic, whole food

So personally I am going to load up on the superfoods and stay away from the junk foods. ( Something I have been doing for years anyway, at least most of the time, no-one is perfect )
 

If you have blood sugar or yeast issues, you may want to avoid or go easy on this.

That being said, this dessert is still way better than cake, ice cream cookies and other standard desserts.

The lady in this video gives us some good tips on how to pick out good fruit at the grocery store.

• Oranges
• Strawberry
• Pineapple
• Kiwi
• Frozen Mango
• Juice of 1/2 lime

Slice up the fruit and arrange pineapple, a few pieces of the mango and oranges in the bottom a bowl. Put the frozen mango and lime juice in a food processor or blender and blend up till smooth.  This makes the sorbet. Place the mango sorbet in the center of the bowl. Then top with the remaining fruit.

Why not take the Traditional Chinese concept of the 5 elements and apply it to a smoothie.

In Chinese thinking there are 5 elements that correspond to 5 tastes of food.

To be healthy and have good life force energy, you need some of each taste.

Five Element Smoothie Recipe Ingredient List

• 1 Peeled Lemon
• Sweet Fruit
• Sea Salt
• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
• 1 Cup Purified Water
• Flax Oil or Flax Seed

The Chinese five energy fields: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Here is how they correspond to taste:

1. wood element – Sour
2. fire element -  Bitter
3. earth element -  Sweet
4. metal element – Spicy
5. water element – Salty

Pay careful attention to what he says about flax oil. It goes bad quickly and you can’t necessarily detect it by smell. I prefer to use whole flax seeds in my smoothies, although some people do not like the chunky texture.

You could substitute sea salt for the Krystal salt.

Dairy allergy or sensitivity is not just limited to being lactose intolerant.

So for today, here is a video on how to make dairy free cheese.

The recipe uses nuts as the main ingredient.

More info about herbs and cheese together at HerbFest.net
Part one show the basic vegan cheese recipe. The second two videos show some variations you can do.These recipes would be great for Holiday parties and get togethers. Part 2 shows how to make a crusted cheese and part 3 shows how to do soft herbed cheese spread.

The lady in the video uses almonds to make the cheese, but other kinds of nuts and seeds can be used as well. A pro-biotic is used for the fermenting process.

Part – 2
How to Make a Hard Raw Vegan Cheese #805

Part – 3
Raw Vegan Dairy Free Herbed Soft Cheese #806

The lady in this video has a very interesting perspective.

If you you eat healthier food, maybe you will not have to go to the doctor quite so often for nagging health issues.

Makes sense when you look at the big picture. I would love to hear your opinion and experience on this. Are your medical bills higher than your grocery bill? Can that trend be reversed?

What is better about organic food?

• The taste, does organic food taste better?
• No unnatural pesticides, chemicals, herbicides
• Possible better nutritional value

Upgrade the quality of your food.

What is the food that you eat most often? Switch your most consumed food item to organic.

Laura Klein share with us in this video.She seems to love cheese. Many people are sensitive to dairy products and do better without cheese.

I would love to hear your thoughts on organic food. Please use the comment box below.

As a bonus, you can easily convert the smoothie into a yummy sorbet.

Just add ice cubes.

Do you follow your intuition or gut feelings? Please use the comment box below to share your feelings.

Berry  Intuitive Smoothie Recipe

• Cantaloupe, take out the seeds and peel off the skin
• Raspberries
• Mint

Blend it up and you have a super quick smoothie.

To make the smoothie into a sorbet, just add ice cubes and blend again.

I still have some mint growing in my garden, even in mid November. Mint is extremely easy to grow, in fact too easy. It tends to spread and can take over a garden rapidly.
One solution is to grow it in a pot, or even put the pot in the ground in the garden. This helps to keep it from spreading all over.
There are a variety of different kinds of mint, peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint (yum), pineapple mint and others.

Try growing a couple different kinds of mint, if you have a sunny window, you could grow it inside during the colder weather.

Mint is a great addition to many recipes and you can also make it into a delicious cup of tea by just breaking off a few leaves and steeping in hot water for a few minutes.

Would it be great to have a hot, delicious soup that actually helped you digest your food and fight inflammation?

Ginger is the the secret ingredient here. It is a great ingredient to add to almost any dish. Onion also helps with digestion.

There is some great nutrition in this soup. With all the fattening Holiday foods that will be lurking about this upcoming season, it is good to have some healthy dishes to serve up.

Hot Delicious Fall Season, Ginger Carrot Soup, Ingredient List

• 1 lb. carrots
• 1 medium Vidalia onion
• 1 med squash
• 1 oz fresh ginger root
• Sea salt
• Herb seasoning
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 4 cups purified water
• Guar Gum (optional)

Make some of this soup and bring it to the next Holiday party, or serve it up at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Friends and family will love it and it is good for you!

Hot soup is always great in the cooler weather. The great thing is you can add or substitute almost any ingredients you have on hand to soup, and it still tastes great. Try it with broccoli, snow peas or bell peppers, just use your imagination.

We would love to hear about your favorite healthy cold season and Holiday dishes and recipes. Please share with us using the comment box below.

Dr. Hyman does a great job of explaining the science and studies supporting this topic.

I learned a lot from watching this. Check out the video and share your thoughts below in the comment box. Towards the end he shares 3 good action tips.

Most Common Food Allergies

He talks about how inflammation from food allergens is one of the root causes of weight gain. Inflammation can also cause pain in the body. For temporary pain relief sometimes essential oils can be helpful. Check out Olba’s Analgesic Salve – Buy from Medfaxx

• Wheat and gluten
• Peanuts
• Dairy
• Soy
• Eggs
• Corn
• Yeast

One of the important tips he gives is to eat a whole food, fiber rich diet. This helps out the good bacteria in your gut. And also provides good nutrition.

He recommends probiotics as well to boost the friendly bacteria.

I personally use Probiotic 11, because it contains 11 strains of good bacteria, instead of just one. Full Disclosure: I get a commission if you buy this from Nature’s Sunshine, thank you.