Beets can’t be beat! Beets are packed with so many good-for-you vitamins and micro-nutrients that you should seriously consider adding them into your diet. Traditional wisdom states the sweet flavor of the beet strengthens the heart, sedates the spirit, improves circulation, purifies the blood, liver, moistens the intestines and promotes menstruation. Beets are notorious for their detoxifying components and should be added to any individual’s diet who may suffer from “deficient blood” disorders.
Caution: The greens contain abundant oxalic acid, and if eaten excessively, inhibit calcium metabolism.
Baked/Roasted Beet Recipe:
This is a convenient way to prepare beets when the stove-top is crowded.
Ingredients:
1 pound of beets, stems trimmed to 1 inch
½ cup of water
2 tablespoons olive, or walnut oil
1 tablespoon minced parsley, chives, or dill
Fresh lemon or lime juice to taste
What to do:
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Place the beets in an 8-inch square baking pan or a round oven-proof dish
Add water. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the beets are easily pierced with a thin skewer or knife tip, about 45 minutes for small beets, 1 hour for medium, and 1¼ hours for large beets
Slip off the skins, and leave the beets whole or slice into round or wedges. Season with salt and black pepper, or paprika to taste. Toss with butter or oil, minced parsley, and lemon juice
References: Pitchford, Paul (2002). Healing With Whole Foods. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books.
Delicious concoction of lentils with curry and spices that is sure to please the palate.
1 cup lentils, soaked
4 cups water
1 tablespoon curry powder or 1/4 teaspoon each; coriander, cayenne, ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cook lentils until soft.
Add salt and seasonings
Cover and cook 5-10 minutes.
Serve over rice.
Serves 4.
Healing Properties:
Lentils typically have a neutral thermal nature, mild flavor, diuretic, beneficial to the heart and circulation; stimulates the adrenal system; and increases the "vitality" of the kidneys. Turmeric(the chief ingredient in curry) is warming and bitter and has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is important to note that in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis, dietary turmeric improved flexibility and reduced joint swelling.
Nori is an edible seaweed which is dried or toasted, and often sold in sheets. Nori has been consumed in Japan and China for centuries, and is an important part of Japanese cuisine especially. Most Western consumers are familiar with nori because it is used to wrap sushi, although the distinctive salty, slightly grassy flavor is also delicious eaten plain as well. In Ireland, nori is called sloke; the Scottish call it laver.
Nori Rolls
2 cups cooked rice, hot
2 tablespoons rice or umeboshi vinegar
½ teaspoon kelp powder
4 sheets nori, toasted
Filling:
¼ cup grated cucumber
Dash soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
Mix up filling and set aside
Mix vinegar and kelp with rice
Place a sheet of nori on a small bamboo mat
Spread ½ rice over the sheet, leaving a 2-inch edge uncovered at the end of the sdheet
Arrange ¼ of filling in a line across the middle on the rice. Roll the nori in the mat.
Place roll with seam down to seal
Slice 1 inch thick
Variation:
Use any grain or cooked vegetable combination. Mix umeboshi plum pulp or paste, or natto miso with the grain. Shrimp, crab and fish can also all be added to the nori rolls.
Healing Properties:
Very cooling thermal nature; sweet-and-salty flavor; increases yin fluids; diuretic; softens nodules; transforms and resolves heat-induced phlegm.
Nutritional Content:
Highest protein content(48% of dry weight) and most easily digested of the seaweeds; rich in vitamins A, B, and niacin.
