Recipe: Chocolate-Avocado Pudding

This week’s healthy recipe comes by way of Marni Wasserman, a Toronto-based Certified Nutritional Practitioner who we absolutely love. Her values align strongly with ours, and her cooking classes happen to be an amazing value – 8 recipes in 3 hours!

Here’s a recipe you’ll be able to use as a substitute for highly processed Hallowe’en treats this weekend.

Raw Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe avocadoes
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (raw purists can leave this one out)
• 4 medjool dates (soaked overnight)
• 1 tbsp pure unsweetened raw cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp raw almond butter or 1/2 cup raw almonds (soaked in water for 8 hours overnight)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Combine the ingredients in a blender and whirl until well-blended into a thick, creamy pudding.
2. Divide the pudding into 2 servings.
3. Enjoy!

Health Benefits

• Avocadoes are a source of healthy fats, potassium, manganese, vitamin E, and folate. Folate has been shown to have positive effects towards heart disease, stroke, fertility, and depression.
• Almonds are a good source of healthy fats, calcium, protein, vitamin E, and riboflavin (vitamin B2). Riboflavin deficiencies have been linked to cracked lips, dry and scaling skin, and iron-deficiency anemia.

More of Marni’s recipes (including lovely cooked vegan ones) can be found on her blog. Thanks Marni!

10 Health Myths Debunked

There’s so much confusion in the health sphere. Here’s our take on some of the biggest misconceptions out there.

1.    Myth: Just wash & moisturize, and your skin will look great

There is a direct connection between the health of your skin and what you put in your mouth. The more strain is put on the large processing units of the liver & kidneys through an unhealthy lifestyle, the more it shows up on your skin, since it’s also an organ used to eliminate unnecessary waste.

Sugar, alcohol, fat, junk food, and dairy all contribute to poor live health and poor skin. Eating a healthy diet to relieve the burden off the liver would help.

• Eat a whole foods diet high in greens, vegetables and low-sweet fruit
• Cut out sugar – even agave, honey, maple syrup, and high sweet fruit
• Drink plenty of clean water and eliminate caffeine
• Take a probiotic daily for 1 month
• Eat liver-supporting foods: dandelion, rosemary, nettle & milk thistle

Your skin might get worse before it gets better, but that’s just your body using all elimination channels to kick the toxins out of your body. It may sometimes take up to a year, but once your diet is clean, your skin will follow.

2. Myth: If I just restrict my calories, I’ll lose weight

Although it’s important to manage calories, it’s much more essential to watch your sugar intake. An excess of glucose (sugar, which comes from bread, rice, pasta, honey, maple syrup, and high-sweet fruit) is one major cause of fat storage, so minimizing glucose will significantly help your weight-loss battle.

It’s also extremely important to engage in weight training and engage in long periods of moderate cardio, as they are the most effective exercises to burn fat.

There is a growing tribe of people who believe that old emotions are stored in cells, and dealing with those unresolved memories can help to shed weight. There are numerous examples (Brendan Bays, Philip McCluskey), but Deepak Chopra is the authority on this topic.

3. Myth: Alcohol is good for you

“Binge drinking alcohol is like sending a halt-all-processes memo to your liver,” advises Mogelonsky.

Your body recognizes excess alcohol as a result of binge drinking as a poison, so the brain signals the liver to stop processing any food and only focus on dealing with the alcohol, since it’s such a threat. As a result, the liver prioritizes processing alcohol first, which would lead to a higher likelihood that more food recently eaten will be stored as fat.

Alcohol is also high in sugar, and consumption leads to accelerated aging, sugar cravings, and weight gain.

Finally, alcohol is highly acidic; the body leeches minerals in order to neutralize it the acid and maintain a slightly alkaline state.

Although many studies have praised alcohol for its anti-oxidant and cholesterol-reducing benefits, eating fruits and vegetables can provide the same or superior result.

4. Myth: Wrinkles and gray hair are permanent.

There are always strong genetic factors associated with aging, however, it is possible to prevent and mitigate some signs of age.

In the raw foodist community, it’s common to meet folks who have “before” photos that look older than their “after” shots. View these articles on wrinkles and gray hair to learn more.

5. Myth: All fruit is good for you

Yes, fruit has amazing nutrients that are highly beneficial. Just don’t binge on high-sweet non-organic fruit, such as bananas, dates, and mangoes.

An overabundance of sugary fruits without a balance of low-sweet fruit and greens can lead to a weaker immune system, since the body uses its mineral stores to neutralize high-sugar, low-nutrient (i.e., non organic) foods.

Lower-sweet fruits include:

•    tomatoes
•    avocadoes
•    cucumbers
•    green peppers
•    lemons & limes
•    apples
•    berries

The high sugar content also fuels sugar addictions and lends to a weaker immune system, according to Dr Brian Clement PhD ND.

6. Myth: There is no cure for diabetes

If you still believe that diabetes, cancer, and other life-threatening diseases are a permanent death wish, I urge you to watch this trailer on a documentary that shows proof that the opposite is true.

7. Myth: There is no cure for depression except for meds

We conducted a poll in April 2009 of 100 raw vegans, and found that 35% of those people had reported “elimination of depression” as a benefit of “going raw.”

Further, 70% of respondents reported an “improved outlook on life” as a result of switching their diets.

For years, Gina Silvestri was chronically depressed, suicidal, and taking 6 medications. When she ‘went raw’, she lost 110 lbs, and her depression lifted – she is now happily self employed and helps others overcome their depression.

8. Myth: You should take a multivitamin every day

A few studies have come out recently to suggest that multivitamins have little to no effect over the long run. In fact, one long-term study found that they can actually be harmful when too many supplements are taken. It’s much healthier to just get the vitamins from your food – so eat an orange instead of popping a vitamin C.

9. Myth: Milk does a body good

Dr T Colin Campbell PhD grew up on a dairy farm, believing that milk was essential. He spent his career studying the link between nutrition and cancer. At the peak of his career, he wrote The China Study, which the New York Times called the “grand prix of epidemiology research.” He found that casein, the main protein found in milk, “turns cancer on like a switch.” Abstaining from drinking milk, and consuming any form of animal protein, halted the growth of tumours in their tracks.

10. Myth: We need animal protein because we’re omnivores

Our bodies break down protein into amino acids, and then re-assemble those amino acids into the proteins that our bodies need. There are thousands of different proteins that our body uses, not 1 universal ‘protein’ that aids all bodily functions.

It’s actually more energy efficient to consume the straight amino acids and have our body assemble them into the proteins we need.

Amino acids are highly abundant in raw fruits, vegetables, greens, and seeds. Once they are heated above 110F, they are denatured, and harder for the body to utilize. The irony is that those who consume much animal protein and not enough raw produce become deficient in amino acids.

How Soy Makes you Fat

Few people are aware that MSG – monosodium glutamate – is actually a naturally occurring byproduct as a result of cooking soy beans (Source: Dr Gabriel Cousens, MD).

So, MSG is not an evil substance that is mined and inserted into food to hurt you; it’s a byproduct of the chemical reaction that takes place when soy is taken from its raw form to its cooked.

Despite MSG’s natural origin, there are still severe health repercussions associated with its consumption. MSG is referred to as an ‘excitotoxin’ because nerve cells are damaged and killed as a result of ingestion.

MSG also damages the hypothalamus, which is a part of your brain that deals with your nervous system and endocrine (hormone) system. Extended exposure to MSG can lead to lesions on the hypothalamus.

The health of your hypothalamus is absolutely critical, since your hormones are a large part of what keeps you healthy and young. Hormones also largely contribute to food cravings. The more damaged your hypothalamus is, the more likely you will experience wild food cravings and a higher likelihood of obesity.

Most of us understand that we should avoid foods with MSG in them; however, MSG is almost never labelled as such on food packaging. Other manufacturers’ terms for MSG include:

• Textured protein
• Vegetable protein
• Soy protein (isolate)
• Natural flavouring
• Glutamate
• Glutamic acid
• Soy lecithin
• Lecithin

…the list is ever-changing.

Healthier versions of soy sauce are unpasteurized products, such as the following:

• Bragg’s Liquid Aminos – neither heated, fermented, or pasteurized
• Nama shoyu – unpasteurized soy sauce

You also want to avoid tofu, soy milk, edamame, and all packaged products made with soy.

“But edamame is so cute and healthy looking. What could be wrong with edamame?”

Nothing, except that it puts bruises on your brain and makes you fat. Bon appetite!

Fight Wrinkles with Chocolate

A Japanese study published in the Journal of Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine found that the topical application of xanthine extracts onto skin suppressed wrinkle formation in hairless mice, after exposure to UV rays.

Xanthine is a chemical compound found in the following food sources:

• Cacao beans
• Tea leaves
• Coffee beans
• Yerba maté

We recommend 3 ways that you can mimic this effect with your own skin:

1. Cacao mask

Throw the following items into your blender, grinder, or food processor:

• Raw cacao beans
• Raw coffee beans, if you can find them (green, not brown).
• Whole leaf black tea
• Raw yerba maté powder
• Drop of vanilla to scent

In a mixing bowl, mix the resulting powder with 1 spoon of a natural emulsifier. Here are some options, depending on what you have in your pantry:

• Cold-pressed coconut oil or coconut butter
• Raw honey
• Raw shea butter
• Any natural lotion you own – the more natural, the better, as unnatural lotions actually contribute to wrinkles.

Apply onto areas of your skin that you’d like to protect from wrinkles. Leave on for 20 minutes and rinse. Ideally, you’d do this immediately before sun exposure.

2. Cacao bath bomb

In a blender, grinder, or food processor, add the following items:

• Raw cacao beans
• Raw coffee beans, if you can find them (green, not brown).
• Whole leaf black tea
• Raw yerba maté powder
• Drop of vanilla to scent

Add this mixture to your next bath and soak for 15 minutes. Rinse off with a cool shower.

3. Anti-wrinkle cocktail

In a blender, add the following items:

• Raw cacao beans – the taste is over-powering, so start off with 1 bean and add more as needed.
• Spring water
• Organic spinach
• Organic apples
• Drop of stevia
• Drop of vanilla

Be careful not to add other natural sweeteners to this cocktail, as sugar – any sugar, even in the form of honey, agave, or maple syrup – will definitely contribute to wrinkles.

Source:

Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine. 23(2-3):86-94, April/June 2007.
Mitani, Hiroaki; Ryu, Akemi; Suzuki, Tadashi; Yamashita, Mika; Arakane, Kumi; Koide, Chiharu