Featured Food: Cauliflower

Thursday's cooking class featured cauliflower as the ingredient of the night, so as an added bonus you get to learn more about it! Considered a cruciferous vegetable, it's related to broccoli, kale, cabbage, and collards. Cauliflower consumption can help prevent cancers by balancing three systems that can cause cancer. These systems are: detox, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. Cauliflower contains phytonutrients (glucosinolates) that activate detoxification enzymes and regulate their activity. There are 3 gluconasturtian. Cauliflower is great for the antioxidant system because it is an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese; but it also includes a variety of phytonutrients (beta-carotene, beta-crytoxanthin, caffeic acid, cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, rutin, and kaempferol). These all help to reduce oxidative stress, which chronically is a risk factor for cancer. How about inflammation? Cauliflower is an excellent source of vitamin K and a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids (in the form of alpha linolenic acid), which regulates inflammatory response. Glucobrassicin is converted to isothiocyanate (ITC), a compound that can prevent the initiation of inflammatory responses at an early stage. Persistant inflammation can increase the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases, like cardiovascular diseases. More on the heart? Glucorphanin is converted to isothiocyanate (ITC) sulforaphane, which triggers anti-inflammatory activity in cardiovascular system, while also helping to reverse blood vessel damage. It's good for you stomach too! It's high fiber content is great for your digestive system. Just 200 calories of it provides half your daily recommended fiber. Sulforaphane helps to protect the lining of the stomach by preventing overgrowth of bacteria. Research is ongoing to show cauliflower's potential benefits to lowering the risk of Chrohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, insulin resistance, irritable bowel syndrome, metabolic syndrome, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and ulcerative colitis. With all this greatness is it any wonder why I love using it. I made at least 5 dishes with it. My favorite thing nowadays is cauliflower rice! Check out the recipes for more inspiration.

Beef Manhatten

What you Need:
1-2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 cup Diced Mushrooms
1/3 cup Diced Onions
1/3 cup Diced Peppers
4-6 oz Ground Beef
1/2 can Beef Gravy

How to Make it:
Precook your ground beef. Heat coconut oil in a wok. Add mushrooms and onion, cook for a few minutes. Add the beef and peppers. Toward the end add your gravy. Serve over cauliflower rice.This makes one serving, throw a bunch in the wok though to make a large batch.

Pot Stickers

 What you Need:

3-4 Cabbage Leaves

4-6 oz Ground Sausage

Toothpicks

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

2 tsp Seasame Oil
2 tsp Garlic Powder

How to Make It:

Divide sausage into little patties and cook ahead of time. Place cabbage leaves in hot water for 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile make your sauce by whisking the soy sauce, seasame oil, and garlic powder. Remove the cabbage leaves and let cool. Then simply wrap the sausages in the cabbage leaves, secure with a toothpick, and serve by dipping into the sauce.

Stuffed Peppers

What you Need:
1-2 Peppers
1 cup Cauliflower Rice
1/3 cup Diced Onions
1/3 cup Diced Mushroom
4-6 oz Ground Beef
1-2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1-2 tsp Emeril Essence Seasoning

How to Make it:
Precook your ground beef. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tops off of the peppers, and then rub them in olive oil. In a bowl mix all of the other ingredients, then salt and peppers. Mix it up with your hands and then stuff it the peppers. Bake standing up in the oven for 25 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Dirty Cauliflower

What you Need:
1 TBSP Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/3 cup Diced Onions
1/3 cup Diced peppers
1 1/2 cup Cauliflower Rice
4-6 oz Ground sausage
1 cup Spinach
1 TBSP Cajun Seasoning

How to Make it:
Cook your sausage ahead of time. Heat up a wok with coconut oil. Add in the onions and peppers. Cook for a few minutes and then go ahead and add the rest of your ingredients. Cook for a little bit, then serve. It's quick and easy, but most importantly it's healthy, yet tasty!

Cauliflower Steak

What you Need:

Cauliflower heads

4-6 oz Steak (whatever your portion size)

2 tsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

1 tsp Butter

1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 TBSP Soy Sauce
1 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar

Featured Food: Olives

We've talked about olive oil several times, but where does olive oil come from? Olives, duh! The Mediterranean produces the best olives, and of course olives and olive oil are a central part of their diet, so we must discuss them. I think that olives tend to get a bad rap. Some canned verisons can be a bit high in sodium, and they do contain fat (which again I don't worry about fat because I am a fat burner), and calories so you don't want to overdue them (which is true with most foods). Before we get into all the benefits I thought we'd do a little history, because olives have such a large past (plus I find it interesting). They are thought to have originated in the Mediterranean region some 5,000-7,000 years ago. The trees are drought-, disese-, and fir-resistant, so they live a long time. A tree in Portugal has been shown through radiocarbon dating to be 2,000 years old. In addition, there are several in Israel (Galilee) that are over 3,000 years old, and one tree in Sardinia, Italy is 3,000-4,000 years old. They've been written about many times, in literature and the olive leafs have served as a sybmbol of abundance, glory and peace (think of the Olympic Games). Its's been mentioned in the Quran 7 times, and in the Bible 30 times (it is an olive branch that a dove delivers to Noah to signal the end of the flood). With such a rich history, this great tree must produce some great treasures: olives. Olives are actually a fruit, and they cannot be eaten right off the tree. They must be processed (tossed in brine and such) because they are so bitter. They change in color from yellow to green to purple to black, when they are fully ripe.

They're are all kinds of olives, but they differ based on processing, variety, the home region, and desired taste, texture, and color. They are produced heavily in Spain, Italy, and Greece. What's so great about them? Well for starters they're a great source of monounsaturated fat; just like their counterpart olive oil (which again fat is a good thing, and in my case I use it for a fuel and energy source). It's also high in vitamin E. The stability of monounsaturated fats combined the antioxidant protection of vitamin E lower the risk damage and inflammation. The vitamin E neutralizes free radicals in the body, which wreck havoc on the body and lead to many diseases. One thing that they do is oxidize cholesterol, which causes build up in the arteries and can ultimately lead to a heart attack or stroke. Another example of free radicals bad rap, is that they can damage DNA of colon cells, therefore leading to cancer. Olives contain polyphenols and flavonoids that have anti-inflammatory properties that help against conditions like: asthma, osteoarthitis, and rheumatoid arthitis. Lastly, they contain lutein, which is responsible for such things as: protecting against premature aging, destroying free radicals, and improving eye sight and retina strength. Like I said there are a variety of olives that you can get, but I'll run through a few. Manzanilla: slightly bitter with a nutty flavor. Hojiblanca: almond/peppery flavor. Gordal: jumbo size that are meaty with a mild flavor. Kalamata: meaty with a sweet fruit flavor.

What about Wine?

We've all heard that drinking a glass of wine a day is good for your heart and I even mentioned that in the Mediterranean they drink in moderation. Yes there are benefits to drinking red wine and an occasional drink won't hurt. Before we discuss any benefits, there are things to consider. Alcohol provides virtually empty calories and slows metabolism, and is therefore not conducive to weight loss. If you're looking to lose weight I would avoid alcohol consumption all together. The benefits you get from wine, you can also get from fish oil and a low carb, high antioxidant diet (therefore you get the same if not better results from whole foods, plus drink green tea-we discussed it last week and know about it's antioxidant powers). What's so great about wine (specifically red)? Hopefully most have heard about resveratrol. It's an antioxidant that prevents free radical damage in the body. It prevents blood clotting and plaque from forming in the arteries by altering lipid profiles and plasma viscosity. In addition it may produce an agent that can improve cardiovascular health and lower the risk of coronary heart disease. It has anti-aging properties by activating sirtuin, which protects cells from its own DNA. Great for Alzheimer's, it reduces the toxicity of existing plaque and prevents cognitive degeneration. Some downfalls are that alcohol can elevate triglycerides (terrible for such things as diabetes) plus it can trigger migraines. If you're not looking to lose weight and want an occasional glass, what should you look for? Red of course! Also ones' that are made in cooler climates have higher resveratrol levels, as do organic brands.

Mediterranean and your Midline

Today's blog is based solely on one study, but don't worry it's a good one. The Journal of Nutrition wrote about the EPIC-PANACEA study of over 500,000 participants, with 23 centers in 10 European countries. The study set a guideline of diet requirements: high intake of vegetables, fruit and nuts, routine intake of fish and seafood, lower intake of meat, high intake of monounsaturated fat (olives and olive oil), moderate intake of alcohol, and low intake of dairy. They used BMI and WC (waist circumference), both of which are usual indicators of obesity (and a large abdomen is associated with greater health, especially heart, risk) and poor health, as there measurements. They found that the Mediterranean diet correlated to better numbers. What else is interesting is that the more closely the participants followed the diet, the more calories they tended to intake. Even more, the total amount of food consumed increased evener greater, the better they followed. They explained this as energy density; calories obtained through food compared to the volume eaten. Their energy density was lower because they were consuming an abundant level of fruits and vegetables. Another key note was that they tended to have greater physical activity levels (men who were less physically active had higher BMI). The bottom line of this study: we can consume more calories, burn off them off with increased physical activity, but still enjoy eating a large amount food because of the low energy density.

International Month: Mediterranean

Last week of our international special, and our finale region is the Mediterranean. Oh don't they live the life we idolize about. Living on the coast (with some of the world's best ocean views, eating fresh fish with olive oil, sipping on wine, taking vacations, with a fun-loving outlook . We are constantly hearing about the benefits of a Mediterranean style diet (and I often classify my cooking class as Mediterranean influenced), but where are we talking about when we say Mediterranean? Well the Mediterranean is a seas that separates southern Europe and northern Africa. It can be broken down into three culinary regions: North Africa (Morocco), eastern Mediterranean (Egypt, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey), and southern Europe (Italy, France, Spain). Popular studies are done on Italy and Sicily, and Greece (especially the island of Crete). For these people, though, it is not a diet, but simply a way of life. They tend to enjoy leisurely dining, taking pleasure in savoring their meals. They emphasize minimally processed, fresh and preferably local foods (somewhat higher in fat). Also they are physically active, with strong family ties, and a leisurely paced life. Again, they have lower rates of chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer, and diabetes. A study of seven countries by Ancel Keys, showed that although Cretans consumed up to 40% of their calories from fat, they (along with Japan) have the lowest rate of heart disease and the highest life expectancy in the world. Another study showed a Mediterranean lifestyle had improved arthritic conditions: decreased pain, inflammation, disease activity, and the number of swollen joints.

Research has shown that physical activity and eating a nutritious diet of whole foods that are filling and satisfying enable people to control weight, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. So what does this lifestyle do for your waistlines? A Harvard study (in which groups where given a low-carb, low fat or Mediterranean diet) found that those on the Mediterranean where better able to stick to the diet and maintain weight loss, whereas low fat dieters couldn't stick to it, regained, and actually weighed more. So what are they eating? They eat an abundance of plant foods and monounsaturated fats. These monounsaturated fats (like avocado, fish, olive oil) are anti-inflammatory and fight disease at the  cellular level. Remember the study on joints, this helps. Olive oils provide antioxidant (hydroxyterosol) and help with joint rubbing, just ask my clients. I have several, where adding olive oil has lessened the arthritic aches. my brother-in-law suffers from knee pains, and noticed progressive grinding in the joint when he reduced his olive oil intake, but bumping it back up relieved the pain and grinding. I t helps to just prevent soreness after workouts too. This region has the vest olive oil in the world. We've all seen those fields of olives, growing in Sicily. They have a great environment for growing olives (plus they know how to make it too: less processed, and first pressed to get all the benefits).

Olive oil from the grocery can't compare! Mediterranean oils are buttery and smooth, with a peppery after taste. Most dishes start with onions, garlic, and tomatoes, surrounded by olive oil. Popular veggies are: egg plants, squashes, peppers, mushrooms, cucumbers, artichokes, okra, and other leafy greens. Anchovies, fresh and cured, are widely eaten, as are various white-fleshed fish like sole, flounder, and grouper. Other fish served are swordfish, monkfish, eel, cuttlefish, squid, and octopus. They also eat smaller animals like lamb, goats, sheep, pork, rabbit, and fovol. Cretan men (who have a low death rate from heart disease) have a diet mostly of olive oil, abundant fruit and vegetables, fish, with moderate dairy and wine consumption. Oh yes, wine! We'll look at this closer later this week. I feel like I'm repeating myself, but all these health societies do the same thing; it's simple, yet most Americans don't live this way, let alone understand (we want fast and easy, and our food companies produce loads of overly processed foods, with compromised nutrients to maintain self life-sorry bit of a tangent there). Again, though, eat lots of whole plant foods, lean proteins, and healthy fats (monounsaturated). Physical activity (just move!) and a positive outlook don't hurt either!