DIY Sprouts at Home

Bean sprouts are a healthy, wholesome, Clean addition to your salads, sandwiches, or just about anything else you'd care to mix them into. Sprouting a seed is said to increase its nutritional value tremendously - especially their natural B vitamin values. Adding sprouts to your foods is healthy and Clean - now have them at home anytime you want them.

Now, you can't just sprout a can of garbanzo beans. These have been heated and the bean rendered inactive. You need to look for "sprouting seeds" at a local health food store or garden center. Anything that will ultimately grow into a plant can be sprouted. Seeds are easily found this time of year as Spring is almost here in most areas of the Nation.


Making them yourself at home is super easy. Wash, rinse, repeat - that is it!

5 Easy Steps

The basic steps for sprouting are as follows:

1. Soak. (Generally, seeds are soaked overnight for around 8-14 hours. Lentils fit into that category; however, quinoa only needs 2-4 hours to soak.)
2. Drain and rinse. (After soaking, the seeds have absorbed water and can be left under a moist towel to rest.)
3. Sit. (After about a day, you should start to see small sprouts. )
4. Rinse and repeat steps 2-3. (To get bigger sprouts, rinse your sprouts once a day until they are the desired size.)
5. Refrigerate. (This halts the sprouting process and keeps sprouts fresh for a few days to a week.)

What Else Can I Sprout?

Some other sproutable possibilities include the following:

• Grains: Amaranth, barley, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, quinoa, rice, wheat/rye.
• Other seeds: Almonds, cabbage, kale, fenugreek, mustard, pumpkin, radish, sesame, sunflower.
• Legumes: Alfalfa, clover, garbanzo, lentils, mung beans, peanuts, blackeyed peas, field peas.

Don't Sprout...

• Toxic/unhealthy: anasazi, black, fava, kidney, lima, navy, pinto, and soy. Don’t use these! The raw beans can be toxic or cause digestion problems. Please cook your large beans.
• Soak/don’t sprout: herb seeds, filberts, pecans, walnuts, brazil nuts, macademia nuts. These seeds and nuts don’t sprout well, but soaking may improve the flavor or create a more desirable texture.

Here's a great page with some typical times it takes to germinate a lot of different sprouts: http://www.living-foods.com/articles/sprouting.html

100 Ways to Cook an Egg

Eggs are a great Clean Eating choice - whether boiled, poached, or even lightly fried ( back away from the margarine and nobody gets hurt! ), eggs are a wholesome and protein packed choice.

Next in the series from EndlessSimmer.com,  100 Ways to Cook an Egg.

Once again, click on the pick that intrigues you. Mind you, a lot of these recipes aren't Clean - but can be easily Cleaned up with the techniques and swap outs you've already come to know.

Salmon & Egg Roll Ups

Lunch Pita with Lox and Egg

Tajine Omelette

Personal to CE Eve Reader North

My deepest sympathies on the loss of your friend. *warm hug*
You are in my thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.

Veracruz Tilapia

I've been really liking tilapia lately, and went digging for something to serve on it besides my lime infused olive oil. Mind that canned tomatoes normally have a lot of salt - so try and get salt free to balance the capers and olives.

24 Super Foods...Vaguely Familiar...

While doing some research last night, I came upon this list of 24 Super Foods over at Prevention Magazine's website. Each entry has a small blurb about the food's health benefits. Super Foods are generally recognized as foods that have intense nutritional values, and have been shown through scientific studies to significantly contribute to a healthier body.

Anything look vaguely familiar with this list?

24 Super Foods

1. Eggs
2. Greek yogurt
3. Fat free organic milk
4. Salmon
5. Lean Beef
6. Beans
7. Nuts
8. Edamame and tofu
9. Oatmeal
10. Flaxseeds
11. Olive Oil
12. Avocado
13. Broccoli
14. Spinach
15. Tomatoes
16. Sweet potatoes
17. Garlic
18. Red peppers
19. Figs
20. Blueberries
21. Asian pears
22. Lychee
23. Apples
24. Guava



Hmmmm.  Suspiciously familiar. I know, I've got it.

 I'll take "Foods a Clean Eater Consumes Every Day" for $400, Alex.

Is Surimi Clean?

Today, this question was posed to me by a co-worker: "Is surimi clean?"

If you are unfamiliar, surimi is fake crab or lobster meat. You've probably seen it on salad bars but never knew it has a name other than "fake crab meat."

This question made me stop and think. I didn't have an ingredient list in front of me, so I told her I'd have to do more research and get back to her. Surimi is essentially fish meat that has been processed to resemble and taste like crab.

 From the Louis Kemp website:"Typically Alaska Pollock &/or Pacific Whiting fillets are finely minced and then blended with other ingredients such as starch, salt, natural crab meat and egg white. This process yields a paste that is formed, flavored, cooked and cut into the various shapes and styles you find available in the refrigerated case at your local grocery store."


Hmmm, sounds "fishy", no? Processed. Processed to taste like something else. 2 hallmarks of unclean food. But...

There are 2 main companies in the US that sell surimi: Louis Kemp and Transocean.

 Louis Kemp lump surimi:
INGREDIENTS: Alaska Pollock, water, wheat starch, egg whites, sorbitol ( an artificial sweetner ), sugar, potato starch, contains 2% or less of: snow crabmeat, modified corn starch, mirin (sake, sugar, salt, water, yeast extract), salt, artificial crab flavor, potassium chloride, soy lecithin ( keeps the ingredients "together" ),  sodium phosphates, carmine ( that is the red colorant on the ends ), paprika oleoresin,

Hmmm - 1/2 c serving has 340 mg of salt.

Transocean is similar, except they use tapioca starch to bind their product instead of potato starch. Their product has 450 mg of salt in every 1/2 c.

So...is it clean? It is just on this side of clean. And I mean...just.  It is a product I would only eat once a month or so as a change of pace. The artificial crab flavorant, the artificial color, and starches are probably best classified as unclean. It is a product that those of us who are carefully watching sodium intake would best avoid. But....

In the interest of being clear, I'm declaring a new category: Border foods. Foods that are probably best avoided by the ardent clean eater, or eaten sparingly by the clean eater who occasionally dabbles on the other side of the clean line. Surimi is a border food. It is clean. Kindof. It is low fat, low calorie. It is essentially just fish. However, it's messed around with enough, and enough extra ingredients are added that firmly classify surimi as a Border Food. Proceed with caution, if you decide surimi is ok for you. And for heaven's sake, drink a lot of water when you eat it!

Ways To Boost Your Metabolism

Clean Eating invariably leads to some weight loss. If you've been eating processed foods for a while, you've got some excess weight. Now, whether that excess is 5 pounds or 50 pounds - there are ways to accentuate that loss to help your body's machinery function at top performance. That's right, your metabolism. It would like some attention, please.


Clean Eating is about eating more—more nutrient-dense food, to crowd out the empty calories and keep you full all day. That's important, because restricting food will kill your metabolism. It sends a signal to your body that says, "I'm starving here!" And your body responds by slowing your metabolic rate to hold on to existing energy stores.

Ways to Rev Up Your Metabolism 

1. Go to Bed Earlier

A study in Finland looked at sets of identical twins and discovered that in each set of siblings, the twin who slept less and was under more stress had more visceral fat.

2. Eat More Protein

Your body needs protein to maintain lean muscle. Add a serving, like 3 ounces of lean meat, 2 tablespoons of nuts, or 8 ounces of low-fat yogurt, to every meal and snack. Plus, research shows that protein can up postmeal calorie burn by as much as 35 percent.

3. Go Organic When You Can

Canadian researchers report that dieters with the most organochlorines (pollutants from pesticides, which are stored in fat cells) experience a greater-than-normal dip in metabolism as they lose weight, perhaps because the toxins interfere with the energy-burning process. In other words, pesticides make it harder to lose pounds.

4. Get Up, Stand Up

Whether you sit or stand at work may play as big a role in your waistline as your fitness routine. Missouri University researchers discovered that inactivity (4 hours or more) causes a near shut-down of an enzyme that controls fat and cholesterol metabolism. To keep this enzyme active and increase your fat-burning, break up long periods of downtime by standing up—for example, while talking on the phone.

5. Drink Cold Water

German researchers found that drinking 6 cups of cold water a day (that's 48 ounces) can raise resting metabolism by about 50 calories daily—enough to shed 5 pounds in a year, with essentially zero additional effort. The increase may come from the work it takes to heat the water to body temperature.

6. Eat the Heat

It turns out that capsaicin, the compound that gives chile peppers their heat, can also fire up your metabolism. Eating about 1 tablespoon of chopped peppers (red or green) boosts your sympathetic nervous system (responsible for your fight-or-flight response), according to a study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology. The result: a temporary metabolism spike of about 23 percent.

7. Rev Up in the Morning

Eating breakfast jump-starts your metabolism so it's no accident that those who skip this meal are 4 1⁄2 times as likely to be obese. The heartier your first meal is, the better.

8. Drink Coffee or Tea

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, so your daily java jolts can rev your metabolism by 5 to 8 percent—burning about 98 to 174 calories a day. A cup of brewed tea can raise your metabolism by 12 percent, according to one Japanese study.

9. Eat Iron-Rich Foods

Iron is essential for carrying the oxygen your muscles need to burn fat. Unless you restock your stores, you run the risk of low energy and a sagging metabolism. Shellfish, lean meats, beans, fortified cereals, and spinach are excellent sources.

10. Get More Vitamin D

Vitamin D is essential for preserving muscle tissue. Get 90 percent of your recommended daily intake (400 IU) in a 3.5-ounce serving of salmon. Other good sources: tuna, fortified milk and cereal, and eggs

Have You Tried...Pepino Melon?

The other day, I picked up 2 Pepino melons at the grocery store. They are small, dense fruits about the size of my palm. Waxy skin, and really no fragrance. I was intrigued, and even more intrigued when the sign on the wall with their price billed them as tasting like "a cross between a banana and a pear." I was expecting something sweet. What I got was something closer tasting to watermelon rind. I didn't find it tasty at all!

I almost threw away the 2nd melon - but something told me the melon I had was under ripe. So, I put the melon aside and let it sit in the fruit bowl for a few days, and then tried it again. This evening, I had a small salad and tried the melon again. This time, though - I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted like a cross between a cucumber and maybe an unsweet cantaloupe. The skin ( though billed as edible ) I found to be waxy and not pleasant at all. I cut the flesh off the skin and ate it that way.
I could see it cut up into a fruit salad as a less sweet note, and possibly on a salad like you would use a cucumber.

It definitely is an odd fruit. my son saw it and promptly dubbed it a "dragon's egg."

Will I buy it again? Perhaps. I thought the ones I bought were ripe - they were definitely NOT ripe. Next time I will put them in a paper bag with a banana to hasten ripening.

Trying new fruits and vegetables is part of the adventure of Clean Eating. Reaching beyond your comfort zone of apples, bananas and oranges. Pick up an unfamiliar fruit or vegetable, and give it a whirl. You will never know until you try!

Making the Most of Your Support System

Stress. It comes, and it goes. It ebbs, it wanes. For some, stress is no big deal. Problems seem to roll right off. Others fret, and the stress is consuming. It eats away until you snap. You snap at friends, at loved ones, people you need to support you in your time of stress. Not people to be held at arm's length.

If you are a stress eater ( like me ), times like these are especially hard on the Clean Eater. Surrounded by unhealthy choices. Choices that will most definitely take you off track for the small amount of mental satisfaction you might gain. Stress makes it very hard to stay on message when you have so much ability to just chuck it all and stop at the first fast food place you can find.

I find myself tonight in a position where I am leaning on my support system - my family, my friends, my loved ones - to get me through. You know that old saying "Southern women are like tea bags? You never know how strong they are until they are in hot water?" I call BS on that one.

This evening, I had a conversation with my occasionally neanderthal-like husband on the subject at hand. He's a stoic type. Not prone to heart on his sleeve, spontaneous bursts of humanity. He's a former Marine; still with the high and tight haircut after so many years. But he listened - he talked in his usual logical manner...and afterwards he got up and started bustling in the kitchen. I asked him what he was doing. He replied that he was going to make dinner - to take the stress off me, and so he could fix me something healthy to eat since I declared I wasn't cooking this evening and I'd be fixing them a frozen pizza for dinner ( they are not Clean Eaters ). I was moved - sincerely moved. If you knew my husband, it is through these little moments that his feelings are readily apparent.

I'm trying to say that I've been thinking I was alone. I held back information from family and friends thinking I was protecting them from the stress - when in reality, I was only hurting myself from receiving their love and comfort. Bottled up, I rob myself of both a sounding board for my feelings, fears, and frustrations - but I also rob myself from allowing these people I love desperately to reciprocate themselves in my time of need.

Open yourself up. Allow your feelings, your fears to show. Come face to face with them.

A group of very smart ladies have said:

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain."

I have said this to myself more than a few times this week. I'm such a geek.

Facing my fears and allowing them to "pass over me and through me" has allowed me not to eat those Berger's cookies in the kitchen. Or think about my son's little bin of lunch bag treats. Overeating, and stress eating are habits I've almost put behind me. Almost - but times like now...I need the support of my family and friends to get me over and through.

Quote of the Day

"Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh?" he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's hand. "I just wanted to be sure of you."
— A.A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh)

Meatloaf on My Mind...

Lately, I've been thinking about meatloaf. Warm, comforting...home. Good meatloaf is one of those dishes that  brings back fond memories, and bad meatloaf is shudder-worthy at best.When made with care, meatloaf is a clean, wholesome food. A host of "traditional" meatloaf recipes use things like barbeque sauce or A1 for flavor - very low on the Clean spectrum of things. When I saw these three ( essentially ) clean meatloaves in this month's issue of Women's Day Magazine, I knew I'd be posting them. I can't wait to try them. If you do, please post and let me know how you liked it!

Lamb, Balsamic & Sundried Tomato Meat Loaf

Whether you use lamb or substitute it with beef, this recipe is a refreshing take on the usual, with sweet sundried tomatoes balanced out by heady rosemary. Serve it with couscous for a real Mediterranean feast.

• Active Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Recipe Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 2 large eggs
• 2 T bsp balsamic vinegar
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 large shallots, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 lb ground lamb

Recipe Preparation

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Using a vegetable peeler, remove 2 strips of zest from the lemon and very thinly slice on a diagonal.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vinegar, ¾ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper; stir in the oats. Add the garlic, shallots, sundried tomatoes, rosemary and lemon zest and mix to combine.

3. Add the lamb and mix just until incorporated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and shape into a 9 x 3 1/2-in. loaf. Bake until the internal temperature registers 150°F, 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Turkey, Carrot & Mushroom Meat Loaf Recipe

 

This recipe bucks convention, using roughly torn bread and meaty slices of mushroom, which provide moisture where the ground turkey lacks it. The result is a juicy loaf that’s loaded with savory flavor

• Active Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Recipe Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 2 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread, torn into small pieces
• 8 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1 1/2 lb ground turkey

Recipe Preparation

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mustard, thyme, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper; stir in the bread. Add the mushrooms, scallions and carrot, and mix to combine (some of the mushrooms will break).

3. Add the turkey and mix just until incorporated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and shape into a 9 x 3 1/2-in. loaf. Bake until the internal temperature registers 160°F, 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Lentil, Roasted Pepper & Spinach Vegetable Loaf Recipe

 

 

Why settle for a veggie burger when you can create this Middle Eastern–style masterpiece? Just be sure to let the loaf rest after cooking, and use a serrated knife to serve—it can be on the crumbly side.

• Active Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour

Recipe Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 15-oz can lentils, rinsed
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups baby spinach, chopped (about 2 oz)
• 1 jarred roasted red pepper, cut into 1/2-in. pieces
• 2 oz organic feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 6-oz package falafel mix (we used Near East; see if you can find an organic mix)

Recipe Preparation

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and 2 Tbsp water. Add the lentils, red onion, spinach and roasted red pepper and mix to combine; fold in the cheese.

3. Add the falafel mix and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and shape into a 9 x 3½-in. loaf. Bake until the internal temperature registers 150°F, 30 to 35 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Eat Breakfast at McDonald's...

McDonald's recently introduced Fruit and Maple Oatmeal.

Finally, something for us Clean Eaters on the go. Official ingredients listed are "100% natural whole grain oats, brown sugar, and cream topped mixed with diced fresh apples, dried cranberries, and regular and golden raisins."

However, analysis by researchers has revealed that this little 9 oz cup has more sugar than a Snickers bar, and only 10 fewer calories than an Egg McMuffin or a plain cheeseburger. Even without the brown sugar - it still has more calories than a plain hamburger.

McDonald's has been billing this as "a bowlful of wholesome." I'd call it a bowlful of Bad Food.

I'm pointing this out because sometimes as Clean Eaters we get blinders on to foods like these.
"Oatmeal - what could be more wholesome than that? I can eat that."

Once again - eyes open. Read labels, question what you are eating. Be aware that advertising is exactly that. I want you as a Clean Eater to look at what you are about to put in your mouth and question what you are being told about it. Question the Cleanliness of it. Question whether the food will add to you nutritionally and make your machine run better - or whether it will just gum up the works.

Edited to add: Oh, and I forgot to mention...what will this little slice of diabetic coma set you back? About $2.25 in most cities. Considering that an equal serving of homemade oatmeal is about .25, McDonal's is getting you coming AND going on this one. 

Organic Food Labels

I found this fairly helpful explanation of organic food labels over at Marketwatch.com while looking for something completely different. It's a really clear and simple explanation of those confusing labels that seem to be popping up on all kinds of products.

Here's a crash course in label reading from Consumer Reports:

What to buy 

 

 

"100% Organic." Translation: By law, a product with this label has to be made entirely of certified organic ingredients, produced in accordance with federal organic standards, and include no synthetics.
Conclusion: You get what you pay for. 

"Organic." Translation: Products bearing this label are required to contain no less than 95% certified organic ingredients. The remaining 5%: Non-organic and synthetic ingredients.


Conclusion: Good and (mostly) good for you.

"Made with Organic Ingredients." Translation: These products contain a 70/30 split of organic ingredients and other non-organic products that have been approved by the USDA
.
Conclusion: The good stuff, plus a little extra.

What to avoid

"Free-range" or "Free-Roaming." Translation: For many of us, these words evoke images of chickens free to roam the broad expanses at will. Don't be fooled. This label (stamped on everything from eggs to chicken and meat) does not necessarily mean that animals have spent most of their lives outdoors. To label a product "free-range" or "free-roaming," producers have only to offer the animals outdoor access every day for an "undetermined period"-- which can mean as little as five minutes.

Conclusion: Use with caution.

 ( This actually upset me a bit. I always had this nice image of chicken running around in a large pen or around the prairie. This "undetermined period" could mean just about anything. )

"Natural" or "All Natural." Translation: These labels can mean many things. In the case of meat, they mean that the manufacturer claims to have used no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or synthetics. When it comes to nonmeat products, the label is largely meaningless because there is no accepted definition of "all natural."

Conclusion: Don't confuse all natural with organic.

"Organic labels on seafood." Translation: This label can be applied at will, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture has set no standards for organic seafood.

Conclusion: Don't believe the hype.

Three Reasons To Rethink That Diet Coke

One thing I hear, over and over from people ( women AND Men ) as we discuss Clean Eating, and the great results both in weight and health I've experienced, is a variant on the following.:

"You don't drink soda? Not at all? Oh, I wish I could stop drinking Diet Coke."
"I eat really healthy , barely anything processed - but I couldn't give up Diet Coke."
" I am a Diet Coke fiend!"

Over and over, I hear some form of the phrases above.

There are 3 very valid reasons to use your logical brain and put aside diet sodas of all kinds. This article Artificial Sweetened Beverages: Cause for Concern recently appeared in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association - the US' leading medical journal and association.

Boiled down, it says:

1. Our body gets confused by artificial sweeteners – the dissociation between sweet taste and calorie intake may put the regulatory system that controls hunger and body weight out of sync, thus sabotaging weight loss plans. A study on rodents showed that those fed saccharin actually gained weight compared to rodents fed sucrose.

2. We’re “Infantilizing” our taste sense – Artificial sweeteners are a hundredfold sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). By getting ourselves used to so much sweet, normal sweet flavors, of fruit for example, become bland and so do other healthful foods such as grains and vegetables, thus reducing our willingness to consume them and ultimately the quality of our diet.

**I can attest to #2. My taste buds have changed so dramatically that now, I find fruit and vegetables sweet and my mouth recognizes and registers pleasure from eating them - not from junk food and soda like before.



3. Long term effects unclear – while there have been many studies on artificial sweeteners and disease such cancer, very few focused on long term weight gain. A seven year study, (San Antonio Heart Study), showed a relationship between diet drink consumption and obesity, but the causation is not clear. Consumption of artificial sweeteners is growing yearly. There are studies currently underway right now to back up findings that there is a direct link between diet soda consumption and increased stroke risk.


Think about it. These 3 points above equal a food that is unclean. It messes with your body's natural response to food - interrupting the machinations built in so you crave wholesome, natural foods - and subvert it to crave junk food...increasingly sugary, fatty, unhealthy food. Reason enough to leave it be. But the kicker is: scientists are now pinning diet soda consumption on multiple real health concerns : obesity, cancer, strokes.

I used to have a love affair with Diet Coke. I'm really glad we broke up.