drinking fresh aloe

A leaf of aloe from our local market. Cost: Q5

Drinking or eating fresh aloe may be hard to swallow for many but, with the awesome health benefits in mind, I've choked it down enough times to like and crave the stuff. I first heard of eating aloe when I was a kiddo; I knew a Mediterranean family that ate a nice slice of aloe flesh everyday and they swore by its longevity factors. I always thought of them eating aloe. Especially when I started having kidney stone issues and was turned on to aloe big time! Aloe is an anti-inflammatory and it'll fix you right up in so many ways if you're ailing from: digestive disorders, arthritis, kidney stone issues, burns, scraps, cuts, bug bites, joint and muscle pain, diabetes, high cholesterol, dry skin and any inflammation. Pretty incredible, eh?

Here is a fantastic link that'll tell you some of the truly amazing benefits you can reap from aloe vera!! It also has a great video showing you how to harvest the flesh from an aloe vera leaf.

We blend aloe flesh with water and coconut water. It might take some getting used to but, it's so pure & healthy!! You can also just blend it into a blended fruit drink. =)

Coffee? Tea? Yes, Please.

The offical proof is here! Caffeine is good for you in a plethora of ways. Just look at the photographic proof here of Denise and we'll get to it after this wonderful visual reference. Thanks a mill, Denise!!!!

As Denise shows us the effects of ones morning coffee we can see it sparks her right up and preps her for yet another lovely day. Caffeine is a natural stimulant, most commonly found in coffee, tea, cocoa and kola, that when consumed in reasonable amounts has a positive effect on us humans.

Energy & Stamina
Caffeine is probably used mostly for increasing energy and stamping out drowsy lethargy. It helps us burn more calories when exercising and enables us to exercise even longer. Win win if you ask me.
Mood & Mental Health
Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system giving us feelings of alterness, well-being and encourages concentration. It has been said by many psychiatrists that caffeine is a mood elevator; plain as day.
Heart Health & Disease/Ailment Protection
Coffee (not kola) is loaded with anti-oxidants which help in the prevention of heart disease.

 

GET THIS! Regular coffee drinkers are "significantly" less likely to develop Parkinson's disease. Regular moderate intake of Caffeine has been shown to decrease the loss of dopamine producing brain cells. It's the loss of those brain cells that causes Parkinson's disease. Coffee specifically has also been proven to lower the risk of cirrhosis of the liver, colon cancer and gallstones. Caffeine can also help relieve headaches.

 

As little as 20 mgs of caffeine can cause noticeable physical & mood changes.

Here's a rough-guide showing caffeine content:

An average cup of tea contains around 50 mgs of caffeine. 

An average cup of instant coffee contains around 70-100 mgs. Instant decaffeinated coffee contains about 3 mgs.

A 6 oz cup of espresso coffee (much larger than the normal cafe cup, incidentally) contains about 80-90 mgs.

A single-hit cappuccino will contain the same amount.

Filter coffee (called 'drip' in the US) can contain 25-50% more caffeine than instant.

A 340 ml or 12 oz can of regular or diet cola contains between 35 and 45 mgs. of caffeine depending on the brand  

Some so-called 'energy drinks' contain very high doses of caffeine - equivalent to to 4+ cups of strong coffee in one dose!

One ounce or 28 grams of chocolate contains about 10-15 mgs .

 

I've been drinking coffee off and on for more than a couple of decades now and keeping up with a lot of the studies regularly done on caffeine...and I have to say that caffeine intake like everything else is all based upon the individual but, all in all, I really think that 1-2 cups of coffee or tea a day is rather healthful. 

flowers all the time.

I've finally gotten into the habit of always having fresh flowers in the house. And I've gotten so good with it, I usually have them in more than one room. My favourite places are in the kitchen/eating area and in our main hang-out room that just happens to have a really nice skylight.

Besides it's a blast looking at all the random flowers for sale in the markets. I've gotten such a range so far and there's always a bunch of flowers that I haven't seen before. I love having so much new information in the way of plants, flowers, trees, fruits and vegetables here.

It helps that my darling boyfriend brings home flowers from the market ever-so-often. And lately I've been snipping wild poppies on our walks which has been so nice! I'll def be doing that regularly.

What I am trying to say is that regularly having fresh flowers around the home makes a world of difference!!

growing my own spices

There's nothing like have herbs and spices to cook with! And there's nothing like not having herbs and spices to cook with. While there are many wonderful ingredients to be found in the markets here in Xela....there are a few things that I have grown accustom to cooking with that are not to be found! My solution? Grow them! Mustard seeds are something I incorporated into my cooking while living in Portland, Oregon some years back. I was going to traditional Indian food-themed pot lucks. I discovered a couple of dishes that influenced my cooking still to this day and probably for my ever. One of the dishes I made that had a huge impact on me was Bombay Potatoes. You start the dish by frying a bunch of spices...YUM!

Harvesting mustard seeds is fun but, a wee bit tedious. Thank goodness I've found a huge bag of mustard seeds (the dark ones) in the market...at a pet food stall. They are fed to birds. Who knew? Not me!!! Out of all the plants we had room to grow we only got about 2 tablespoons of mustard. It was a fun project and I've never regretted growing anything!

Mike even loved the plants and helped out, of course he did, he's a very good boy!

fresh herbs....nothing like em.

There are so very many things that are fresh and amazing about Guatemala; fresh herbs being one of them!

Mind you it's really hard to find fresh Basil and that's a bummer but, this bunch of fresh Cilantro is what you get for Q1 (which is about 1/7 of a dollar). ...you can not beat that!

Fresh herbs are so healthful to eat and now I can easily eat them up with every meal! It's a good thing as you know who would say. Oh! And they are grown organically......sweet!

homemade natural deodorant

Living in Guatemala has changed me in many ways. And I wasn't about to let these changes (such as not having access to the lovely Weleda products I've been using for years) make me stink so, I had to find a solution and quick! Just kidding about the quickness part but, I am super stoked to have found a super simple solution. I have used and love Weleda Sage spray deodorant for a while now. It's light and airy and effective. I love that it's a simple refreshing herbal spray and I didn't want to compromise by using something un-natural. I won't even talk about stick deodorants...gross!

Well, after a tiny bit of research and thought, Rosemary is really the only fresh herb I could easily find here that I wanted to use. All I did was stuff in a bunch of fresh clean Rosemary in my empty deodorant bottles& fill with quality Vodka. They have been sitting in the dark for a week; I shake them everyday & they already smell really great!!!!

***UPDATE***
I should have removed the Rosemary at about 10 days in or less. It smelt great and was a very effective deodorant. I left the Rosemary in too long and it turned on me. Maybe it's because I used fresh Rosemary instead of dried. Nothing like learning things the hard way!!!!

a great summer snack!

Pineapples are so affordable right now! And they are so refreshing on these super hot Florida days!! We've been buying them whole, last time we were at the bodega they were 2 for $3!! Zach cut them up for us today. We squeezed fresh lime and liberally sprinkled hot red pepper flakes all over the chunks! So sweet and delicious!! Yum!

We took it in the car today for a snack on the way to the thrift store.

Calcium! Get it in you!!

I am supposed to have a ton of calcium a day. I am sure most people especially women are. I am not good at remembering to take a calcium supplement and am picky as all get about supplements anyway. It just seems much more legit to eat calicum rich foods. I think my body will recognize a food and know what to do with it as opposed to a calcium supplement! AND...not to mention dairy products most especially milk mostly suck (see my link for mucho information on the subject!)

Here are some really good tips for eating calcium rich food from Dr. Weil!!

Don't like milk - or can't digest it properly? You aren't alone. The good news is there are plenty of non-dairy foods that provide calcium:

1. Calcium-fortified beverages. Orange juice and soymilk are good choices. Read the labels to see how much calcium is in each serving, and how big the serving size is, as well as how much one serving contributes to your total daily percentage of calcium. Look for products containing calcium citrate and malate, which may be better absorbed than tricalcium phosphate and calcium lactate. A six-oz serving of calcium-fortified orange juice usually provides about 20 to 25 percent of your daily value (DV); an eight-oz serving of soymilk contains anywhere from eight to 50 percent of your DV, depending on the brand.
2. Cooked greens. Turnip greens, kale, and spinach are just a few examples of natural sources of calcium from the greens family. A half-cup of cooked spinach contains about 12 percent of your DV of calcium, one cup of cooked kale has nine percent, and a half-cup of boiled turnip greens offers 10 percent.
3. Canned salmon with bones. The bones of this fish are softened in the canning process, making them edible—and an excellent source of calcium. You'll get a whopping 18 percent of your DV of calcium from three ounces of canned salmon (including bones). Choose canned salmon from sources in the wild (not farmed).
4. Broccoli. When eaten raw, you'll get two percent of your DV of calcium from a half-cup of this versatile vegetable.
5. Tofu. Read the package label to make sure calcium was used in its preparation. If so, a half-cup of firm tofu typically contains 20 percent of your DV, while the same amount of soft tofu provides 14 percent.

You may want to consider adding a balanced calcium-magnesium supplement to fill in any dietary gaps, as well (Dr. Weil suggests women take a supplement with 500-700 mg daily, for a total daily intake of 1,000-1,200 mg from all sources, while men should get no more than 500-600 mg daily from all sources, and probably do not need to supplement.)
For additional calcium intake without the dairy, use molasses and sesame seeds-simply add them to your favorite recipes for a healthy calcium boost.

I by no means claim to be vegan but, I am not a fan or consumer of typical bovine products!!

new like: papaya!

I've never like papaya, whether it be fresh, juiced or in a dish of any kind. It's mainly always been the smell which, consequently is exactly how it tastes! Well, I think the main reason I've never liked it is that I never knew how to property eat it!! Now I love it! All it takes is: squeeze some fresh lime juice on it and a little sprinkle of sea salt, viola!!! A delicious and very nutritious fruit!






The papaya is a big fruit, which is a good thing. I cut it up and put it in a container in the fridge to use mostly for my breakfasts but, it also makes a great snack!

PS-Check out that rad container. Love it!!!

two weeks sans coffee.

wow! it's been two weeks since i stopped drinking coffee. the first week i didn't notice much of a difference. 1/2 way through the second week and i started feeling rather different. i've only been slightly tempted to have a cup of coffee but, strangely enough both times have been in the afternoon & evening; not in the morning as i would have suspected. all in all, i think ditching coffee for tea is going to be a great thing!!!

*my first step was to remove the coffee maker from my kitchen. i did this once i had used up all my coffee (waste not, want not). the second step of my master 'forget about coffee' plan was to set up a conveinent tea 'station' in my kitchen (pictured here). a very important componet for me was to have an electric stainless steel kettle....it's a dream!! boiling water in a minute! tea of choice lately is: organic english breakfast tea. no cream. no sugar.

2010: a year of healthy choices for me!

good eating

I've had really good eating habits for a while now and it feels great!!

I have never been a breakfast eater, ever!

But, lately, I have been eating breakfast and it has been interesting. 

I start each day off with coffee and water. Then hours later I'll have my breakfast of:

fresh dark berries with greek yogurt

(i vary the berries by which ones look best or are on sale at the market)

For lunch I've been eating all live foods in the form of salads (we have to come up with a new name....I think the word salad does not bring to mind what I am eating!). 

This salad is mostly organic:

mixed greens & herbs, grape tomatoes, avocado and a smidge of blue cheese.

Dinner was super simple. 

I made a whole mess of Mustard Greens! Yum!!

I just steamed them up with 3 cloves of garlic, olive oil, salt and water.

(While I love garlic, it's the flavour of it, I like not so much eating the garlic itself.)

It always fascinates me how much a HUGE bag of greens cooks down to!

All steamed up and ready to eat!!

I did make some Basmati rice to go with the greens!

A healthy day of eating if I do say so myself!

Mushroom advice from Dr. Weil!

I know I love mushrooms....always have and I lovelovelove finding out that a food I eat a lot of is good for me! (I do know that a lot of folks don't care for them; be it their texture or taste, I've heard complaints about either or both lots. I also realize that they don't agree with everyone's digestive system. My husband and one of my bff's have allergic like reactions when they eat them.)

Here is what Dr. Weil has to say about them:

Mushrooms are a big favorite of mine because they're delicious and often have medicinal properties. If you're not allergic and don't find them hard to digest, try these:

Cordyceps: A Chinese mushroom used traditionally as a tonic and restorative. You can add whole, dried cordyceps to soups and stews, or drink tea made from powdered cordyceps.
Maitake: This delicious mushroom provides anti-cancer, anti-viral and immune-enhancing properties, and may also reduce blood pressure and help regulate blood sugar. Find it dried or fresh in Japanese markets, gourmet stores or upscale supermarkets.
Reishi: Too woody and bitter to eat, reishi mushrooms are available in tea bags, capsules and liquid extracts. Animal studies have shown that reishi improves immune function and inhibits the growth of some malignant tumors. It also acts as a natural anti-inflammatory agent.
Shiitake: The shiitake has been found to have immune modulating, anti-viral and cholesterol-reducing properties. Certain extracts of shiitake mushrooms are used in Japan as adjunctive therapy to strengthen the immunity of cancer patients during chemotherapy and radiation. Find it - fresh or dried - in grocery stores and Asian markets.
Note: I advise against the regular consumption of cultivated white or "button" mushrooms because they contain natural toxins that may act as carcinogens.

LET'S TALK SHIITAKES!

Shiitake mushrooms are commonly sold dried in preserved packages. All you need to do to re-hydrate them is to soak them in water prior to using. You can hydrate them with any liquid really...get creative hydrate them with a broth! I prefer the fresh shiitakes myself, they have a better, more full-flavoured taste.