By now, you’ve probably heard something about mercury in amalgam fillings and the risks associated with having elevated mercury levels in your body.  The extent to which you might be affected depends on a variety of factors, including your inherent ability to detoxify, which is mostly determined by genetics, and whether or not you have a healthy diet and lifestyle.

The main problem with mercury is that it causes inflammation, and inflammation is the root cause behind many common illnesses.  While mercury may not be the only factor in the development of a disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis or cardiovascular disease, it can be additive and should be addressed in people who have higher than normal levels.

My friend and colleague, Dr. Jeff Clark, speaks in-depth about mercury and detoxification strategies on his website: http://www.cfsn.com/detox.html

Personally, I like the gentle approach to mercury detoxification instead of using harsh chelation agents, which can be damaging to someone who’s ability to detox is compromised.  Pesto is not only incredibly tasty, but has a variety of ingredients that actually support the body’s detoxification pathways, bind to metal, and help with excretion.

Here is my recipe, which is most easily made in a Cuisinart-type mixer.  Blender is ok, too, but you have to be a little more tactful with adding ingredients so things actually mix together.

Metal-Free Pesto

3 bunches cilantro

2-4 cloves garlic, depending on taste

2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 - 3/4 c. olive oil

1/2 - 1 c. pumpkin seeds/hemp nuts/brazil nuts in a 50/25/25 ratio.

Add the nuts, garlic, salt and one bunch cilantro to the mixer and turn on.  Start adding olive oil until the mixture blends to a smooth consistency.  Next, add the other two bunches of cilantro and mix until smooth again, adding more olive oil until it looks like pesto.  Some people prefer their pestos to be more oily and less pasty.  You decide.

Garlic: This savory bulb has a natural antimicrobial agent, called allicin, which is slowly transformed to an inert substance after the cloves are crushed.  Garlic also has selenium, which is an important cofactor in many enzymatic processes in detoxification.

Cilantro: Clinical studies have shown that eating cilantro increases the body’s urinary excretion of both lead and mercury

Pumpkin seeds: These seeds are a great source of magnesium and zinc, which are also important in the detoxification pathways.

Brazil nuts: A great source of selenium

Hemp nuts: This is an optional ingredient, but I love using hemp products since they have a balanced ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, in addition to other essential fatty acids, which are important as building blocks for hormones, for proper immune function, as a protective agent for the cardiovascular system, and so forth.  To read more on hemp, click here: http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/livingharvest/hemp101.d2w/report

You can enjoy pesto with virtually every dish!  I suggest rice pasta, quinoa, toast, eggs, veggies, and meats.  You can even add 1/4 c. cilantro pesto to 1/4 c. vinegar for a savory and metal-chelating vinaigrette.

If you have any concern about heavy metals and your health, consult your local naturopathic physician for the appropriate treatment for your particular constitution.

You may not be baking savvy, so just show off your balls. They are easy-to-make, lower on the glycemic index, and can be made in a relatively healthy way.

The basic idea is that you mix yummy ingredients together, then roll them into balls.

1. Ball morter: tahini, almond butter, cashew butter, coconut butter
2. Ball glue: agave syrup, honey, maple syrup
3. Ball bulk: coconut, spirulina, chocolate chips, carob chips or powder, protein powder, dried fruit, seeds, and nuts

The exact ratio of these ingredients depend on how sticky you want your balls to be.

Tahini, Coconut and Honey Balls

• 1 c. tahini
• 1/2 c. honey
• 2 - 3 c. shredded coconut

Basically, you mix everything together, leaving some coconut reserved to dust your balls with at the end.
Protein Balls

• 1 c. almond butter
• 1/3 c. rice/hemp protein powder
• 1/4 c. agave syrup
• 1/3 c. shredded coconut
• 1/2 c. chopped almonds
• 1/4 c. spirulina

I like the idea of taking these higher calorie treats on camping trips or hiking, instead of a luna bar or other snack bar.  Not only are they less expensive and healthier, but more tasty, too.

Spirulina is a high-protein super food they use in many green drinks.  Basically, it’s a type of bacteria full of nutrients including essential fatty acids, an array of vitamins and minerals, and free radical scavenging  bioflavenoids.   Clinical studies on spirulina support its use for anemia, stroke recovery, age-related memory decline, and hay fever.

Chlorella and Blue-green algae can also be used for your balls.  They have similar benefits as spirulina, in addition to the ability to remove mercury from your body.  Yeah, green balls!

For some reason, most people think that in order to have a gourmet meal, you must possess amazing culinary skills and years of experience. This is just not so. Some of the best meals can have fewer than six ingredients and take only a short time to prepare. The secret? Good quality food. As long as the starting ingredients are fresh, you really can’t go too wrong.

Here is a suggestion that should only take 30 minutes, including prep:

Wild rice, Curried Tilapia and Sauteed Spinach

I have to admit that, when I made the meal, most of the ingredients had come from Costco. There’s a part of me that cringes about it, but they have made efforts to keep up with the demand for organic foods and I’m not going to pretend that the fish wasn’t cheaper there and still of very high quality. We purchased about 5 lbs. of fish and froze 2 -3 fillets in separate plastic bags to be thawed as needed. We also picked up a gigantic box of organic spinach (which I think is slightly evil because of the plastic waste) and organic wild rice blend (also in a slightly evil plastic container).

The morning before our meal, I took the tilapia out and put it on a plate to prevent fish juice puddles. By the evening, the cats had not found out about it, so I was able to cook our meal.

Rice First

I began by letting the rice cooker do its job. Wild rice needs water in a 1:2 ratio so, 2 cups rice to 4 cups water. Add about 1-2 teaspoons sea salt to help with taste and cooking. Another secret is to use a bouillon cube or two for flavor added directly to the rice cooker.

Using a pot is OK, too. When I cook rice in a pot, I just turn up the heat on high until it’s boiling, then turn it down to almost the lowest setting and keep the lid on for 40 minutes simmering. Then, turn off the heat and let sit for another 10 minutes. The rice kernels should be split open yet not mushy.

Fish next

What you will need: rice and/or corn flour, curry powder, sea salt, cumin seed, coconut oil….and the fish, of course.

Put about 1/2 c. flour on a plate then add 1 teaspoon each of curry, sea salt and cumin. Mix it up.

Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a saute pan (either cast iron or stainless) over medium heat. Flour each side of each fillet, dust off excess, and place into pan. The pan should be hot enough that they sizzle.

When one side is lightly browned, use a spatula and flip them over to the other side. Let them cook until the meat flakes or is firm to touch. Turn down heat and transfer them to a plate.

Spinach

Ok, here’s the grand finale.

We heat up a teaspoon of coconut oil in a pan over medium heat, throw in a couple handfuls of spinach, add a pinch of sea salt, and stir it around until wilted! If you want to get fancy, you can add a teaspoon of minced garlic.

That’s it!

By now, you’ve probably noticed that the label “organic” also means “more expensive.” Recent news also indicates that food costs will only continue to rise so I’ve thought about some ways that eating organic can be done more cost-effectively:

• Buy in bulk! Food costs also incorporate the cost of packaging. If you go to the store and bring your own containers to fill up, not only are you doing your part to save the environment, but you can also get a cheaper deal on legumes, oils, nuts, rice, and other nourishing foods from the bulk bins.
• Buy what is in season, on sale, or local. When you think about the large distances your kiwi has traveled to get to the market, you wonder if the energy expended to get it there will even equal the energy it will give you. I have nothing against kiwi, or any other tropical fruits, but buying more locally can be cheaper and have less of an impact on the environment. Eating seasonally also has a way of attuning your body to nature, which is never a bad thing.
• Go to farmer’s markets. Not only will the food tend to be cheaper, but it will be fresher.
• Avoid expensive processed foods like crackers, cookies, and chips. The cost of the packaging and processing add up. For the foods that I can’t live without (like Mary’s Gone Crackers rice crisps) I just stock-up when the item is on sale.

There are many reasons to buy organic food but it really boils down to one issue: your health and the health of the rest of the people on this planet. Nearly everyone has a certain percentage of pesticides in their bodies and there’s a positive correlation with the increase in environmental pollution to the incidence of chronic disease, allergies, and chemical sensitivity illness in this country. Now, I’m no expert, but I would say that the two just might be connected. Let’s do our part to support the planet and support a healthier body with organics! Yeah!

I’m pretty sure it’s not. In fact, I would bet on it being inedible, especially the polycarbonate variety: Plastic #7

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/business/worldbusiness/25plastic.html?ex=1366862400&en=f35ba1b831f1b598&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

In general, the safest materials to use for cooking or storage are stainless steel, glass, and cast iron. Materials in most plastics, regardless of how high quality they are, have the potential to leach unwanted chemicals into your body which can cause inflammation and, in the case of bisphenol A, disrupt hormone regulation which can lead to cancer. A similar story can be told about Teflon, regardless of the research from DuPont that says otherwise.

For food storage, I prefer to reuse glass jars and employ trusty pyrex bowls with lids (yes, the lids are plastic, but not dreaded #7 plastic). I usually don’t fill them to the brim either so that my food, especially when hot, stays relatively untouched by potential carcinogens.

My favorite salad is simple to prepare and so incredibly delicious. Thank you, Dr. Portuondo of Honolulu, who taught me how to make this wonderful dish.

Kale Salad

1 head of kale
1 lime
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid aminos
(or substitute 1.5 tsp. tamari sauce)

Chop up the kale into fine strips.

Send the garlic through a press, then mix with the juice of your lime, olive oil, and Bragg’s. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix it up. This is best left to marinate for a half-hour or so to “cook” the kale and let the flavors mingle together. The dressing ingredients are approximate so feel free to experiment.

Kale facts

Kale is a member of the cabbage family and is high in Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Manganese. You also get a good amount of fiber, as you might imagine.

There are several varieties of kale to choose from including dinosaur kale, or lacinto, green leaf, red leaf, and Russian red leaf, although my Russian friend claims never to have seen it before. Go figure. Any of these can be used for the salad or even mixed together with a doubled recipe.

Accompaniment

This is fantastic with Black Bean Soup, which can be created by using the left-over black beans. Use a carton of vegetable stock and a cup of cooked beans, heat in a pot (a stainless steel pot), and add cilantro at the end of cooking for added flavor.

I was glad to have soaked the beans over the weekend. On Saturday, I threw a quart-sized mason jar of dried black beans into the crock pot and covered them with water. By Sunday evening, I was ready to begin.

First, I drained out the water and rinsed the beans, refilling the crock pot with filtered water until the beans were covered. Next, I sauteed one organic yellow onion in coconut oil until translucent and added five or so cloves of organic garlic. Then, I tossed the spices in: 2 tablespoons of cumin, 2 tablespoons salt (or maybe 2, and a pinch of red pepper. After stirring the mix all up, I dumped it right into the beans. Lastly, I added a few bay leaves to the pot and stirred it all up.

That’s it! Next, I put the crock pot on low and went to bed. When I left for morning yoga, the aroma left my nose and stomach anxious to try their first meal of the day.

This simple dish went on to become breakfast, then dinner, when I mixed the beans with some slivers of hard goat cheese and left-over rice pasta from the previous night. All this was accompanied by a parsley and mustard salad with Bragg’s Vinagrette (my current favorite).

Most salad dressings are made with canola oil, which I tend not to use from its reported link to certain cancers. Sallon Fallon knows what she’s talking about in this article regarding this “healthy” oil: http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/conola.html

To summarize the recipe of the day:

1. 3c. beans (black, in this case)
2. 1 onion, diced
3. 5 cloves garlic
4. 1 tablespoon coconut oil
5. 2 tablespoons cumin
6. 2 teaspoons red chili
7. 3 bay leaves
8. 2 tablespoons sea salt
9. 1 tablespoon curry (optional)

Soak the beans overnight. Drain water, rinse, and place in crock pot or other large pot. Add filtered water until beans are covered again.

Sautee the onion in coconut oil over medium heat until onions are soft, then add garlic. Next, stir in all spices and cook for another minute. Empty onion/spice mixture into crock pot and stir.

Cook for 5 hours on high or 10 hours on low. For non-crock people: Cook the beans for 3 hours on medium heat, adding water as it is absorbed.

Recommended with: rice, quinoa, salad, goat cheese (if you are not sensitive to dairy)

The intention of this blog is to start a dialog with the world about health, and to provide information about what I know including recipes, articles, and the random pearls of wisdom that arrive through the ether. I’d primarily, at this point, like people to be able to glean a few simple ideas about how to cook healthily, especially because it can be so very simple to get started.