Noshtopia

Review: Quantum Wellness, is it a Special Diet Book or a Self-Help Book

I’m all about holistic healing and so when I heard that Oprah was doing a 21-day gluten-free vegan cleanse along with kicking booze and sugar, I was highly intrigued as I too recently completed a 12-day gluten free vegan “Great Food Reboot Experiment” myself. Oprah was inspired by the book Quantum Wellness by Kathy Freston. I saw the Oprah episode where Kathy appeared to share some light on her new book, and then I read the book to see what I could learn.

My review of Quantum Wellness is coming from the perspective of someone who has spent the last 7 years going through my own leap in healing using both traditional western and alternative healing modalities, recovering from date rape, the eating disorder bulimia, a near addiction to alcohol, depression & anxiety (I was on the happy pills) and being 30 pounds overweight. All of this I've written about in my blog Back in Skinny Jeans.

I’ve also gone through my own food transformation eliminating virtually all processed foods and eating mostly organic or home cooked. I’m an omnivore but have also experimented with vegan, vegetarian, and raw diets, as well as going gluten-free. I’ve done detoxes and cleanses as well. And lastly, in those 7 years, I finally left my corporate career in marketing and am pursuing my life purpose work with my own business.

What does my background have to do with this review?

I mention my background only because it will give you a better understanding of my review and that I have personal experience with quantum healing because while I agreed with a great deal of the content in Quantum Wellness, there is a significant philosophical difference in opinion I have about Kathy's view on quantum healing. Now everyone is different, and we all have different perspectives. What ultimately matters is finding what works best for your personal situation which is why I highly recommend experimenting. Bottom line is that I agree with Kathy in that wellness is holistic in body, mind, and spirit. She and I just have a different view point on how to get there.

The basis to Kathy's Quantum Wellness are eight pillars of wellness:

Light dinner dish: Mango, arugula, and onions with chicken or tempeh

This is one of my favorite dinner dishes because it's light, fast to make, and I love the mix of the sweet mango with the savory arugala. Normally, I make this dish with chicken but for vegans and vegetarians, you can easily use tempeh or an extra firm tofu.

Ingredients
Serves 1-3

• 1 Mango
• 3 grabfuls of arugula
• 1/2 lb chicken breast cut into chunks or stir-fry cut* (or tempeh for vegan/veg version)
• 1/2 small onion cut into strips
• 3-4 cloves garlic diced
• evoo (extra virgin olive oil or any oil for sauteing)
• salt & pepper to taste

*Sometimes I feel lazy and don't feel like cutting up a chicken breast, so I just get the stir-fry cut version at the store.

Let's start creating

• Cut mango into square chunks. You'll want to cut the mango first because at the end of the recipe when we throw them in the pan with the arugula it will literally only take seconds for the final cooking.

• In a saucepan heat the evoo to medium, and saute onions and garlic until everything starts looking tender. By the end of the recipe when the chicken is all cooked the onions will look carmelized.

• Throw the chicken (or tempeh) in with the onions & garlic and season with salt & pepper to your taste and continue to saute. I use one of my favorite garlic salts and regular black pepper or cayenne if I'm in a caliente mood. I'll also use a couple dashes of Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute because it has a combo of all kinds of other spices and herbs and makes the chicken taste yummy.

• When the chicken (or tempeh) is cooked, turn the stove off but leave the pan on the burner.

• Throw in the mango chunks, do a quick stir to mix with the chicken (or tempeh), and then throw in the arugala and start mixing everything together for about 30 seconds or less. You want the burner off because we only want to sweat the arugula. Too much heat and too long in the pan will make the arugula wilt and go mushy. Literally, it only takes seconds in the pan for the arugula to sweat.

• Pour everything into a serving dish, and serve with brown rice, white rice, or Quinoa. Here's how to cook Quinoa if you've never made it before.

Enjoy!

The perfect endurance workout snack

If you asked me what I think the perfect snack food is for endurance workouts like marathon training or long distance biking, I'd say it is this: Dates stuffed with Nuts. In the picture above is my favorite combo: Medjool dates with walnuts.

What makes dates and nuts a perfect workout snack to me you ask?

• Dates are fiber rich and a natural carbohydrate. When you are physically pushing your body for over an hour your body need carbs to re-fuel and I like to find natural sources versus things with wheat or food additives and preservatives in them. Dates are also packed with all kinds of nutrients especially potassium, in fact more so than bananas. Intense workouts can make your potassium levels drop, and dates can help keep your potassium up. Here's a list of the nutrient goodness in dates.

• Because of the high fiber content, dates help keep you regular in the potty department, and a happy colon is always a good thing especially if you have issues with constipation. It sucks having to run for two hours or more with that heavy feeling in your bowels.

• Nuts give you protein and fats which are beneficial for the muscles.

• I like the Medjool date the best because it's bigger in size compared to other dates and they are very moist. You almost feel like you're eating a candy.

• They pack light. When you stuff the dates with nuts, these snacks are small and compact enough to put in your shorts pocket or sweatshirt without taking up a whole lot of room. Because they are moist and not stiff like a food bar, the dates won't jab you in the side or rub up against you while you're in motion. I always hate that feeling of a stiff food bar in my shorts. [Ok, I hear the jokes. You know what I'm talking about though ;-]

Next to dates for workout re-fueling, I like eating dried figs with nuts like Figs & Filberts.
What do you consider a perfect endurance workout snack?

See what a Nutritionist eats, a quick picture guide to Indian Spices and other delectables around the noshosphere

• One of the unique characteristics of Indian cooking is all the spices that are used. There are so many in fact, that it can be a bit intimidating to know Asaetida from Carom. But not to worry, here is a nifty picture guide of the most widely used Indian spices and the types of dishes where the spice is primarily used. Whew, I love pictorial references! [indiamarks]

• Which is a better choice store bought packaged bread or bread made in a bakery? Tip: Watch out for the "faux-wheat" breads. [Vital Juice Daily]

• File this under it's about frying-frickin-time. In the US and Canada, McDonald's french fries are now cooked trans-fat free.Yay! Along with the fries, trans-fat free items include hash browns, chicken, filet of fish, and their biscuits. Why the lag behind everyone else? Mickey D's didn't want to compromise the taste. Well, hello, yeah! That's why the bad stuff tastes so good. Now, fast food fries are still not the best choice for everyday optimal health but once in awhile, boy howdy those golden fried sticks hit the spot. [MSNBC]

• Ever curious what a trained Nutritionist eats? I am. Hopefully, the expert walks their talk. Take a peek at what this Nutritionist eats as she blogs her meals. [Self - Eat Like Me]

• Feast your eyes on some vegetarian grill delights from Bobby Flay including Grilled White Pizza; Grilled Portobello Mushroom Stacks; Farro Salad with Grilled Eggplant, Tomatoes and Grilled Apricots with Bittersweet Chocolate & Almonds.[Food Network]
  

Recipe: Angel Hair Pear Salad with Kiwi Sauce

I made up this recipe the other day when I wanted to play with this new grater I got at a Japanese grocery store. It's a cheap grater, $8, but boy does it make some fun looking angel hair. I went nuts grating all kinds of fruits and vegetables. In Japanese and Korean dining there are side dishes and garnishes, most often things like radishes, that are cut fine and stringy which always reminds me of angel hair pasta.

I thought it was just fun to make pasta looking things out of fruit. For this dish I used pears, but you could use cantaloupe, honeydew, apple, or any fruit that has some toughness to it so it can survive going through a grating process. Not only is this dish light and refreshing, it's pretty fast and easy to make. This fruit salad would make for an awesome light dessert or a fun brunch dish tapas style.

Serves 1-2
Ingredients:

• 1 Bosc Pear
• 1 D'Anjou Pear
• 1 Kiwi
• 1/2 tbsp Agave Nectar
• Some ground up pistachio for topping or any other nut you like

Note: I used two kinds of pears because I liked the mix of a sweeter pear with a tarter one. Something to be aware of, if you use a Bosc pear it starts to brown almost immediately after grating and the juice starts getting runny soon after because the pear has higher water content to it. So, if you care about making a pretty looking dish stick with the D'Anjou or a fruit that is lower in water content.

Let's start creatin'

• Grind some pistachio nuts in a mini food processor for a nut topping. Pistachios go well with pears but you could use pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts.

• Skin the kiwi, cut into slices, and put it into a mini 3-cup food processor. Add the agave nectar and then, grind the kiwi until it is saucy looking. I added the agave because the kiwi can be a bit tart and the agave sweetens up the sauce. If you like tart, then omit the agave. That's it the sauce is done. Cover and put into the fridge until needed.

• Skin the pears. I leave a little skin on the top so I have something rougher to grab onto when grating the pear. A totally naked pear gets slippery and hard to grasp while grating.

• Cut one side of the pear so you have a flatter surface to start off your grating. The initial flatter surface will also give you a longer "pasta" string as you work your way toward the center of the pear.

• Start grating the pears using long strokes so you can get the longest strings possible.

• Place the angel hair pear pasta onto small plates, pour on some of the kiwi sauce, and add the nut topping.

Enjoy!

Yes, there is ice cream and organic frozen yogurt for dogs

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, strolling down a quaint street filled with the neatest mom & pop type stores, I literally stopped dead in my tracks and did a Scooby-Doo when I saw this sign in front of a pet store for "Frosty Paws Ice Cream" and "Doggie Organic Frozen Yogurt" Yes, organic yogurt for Fido!

Now, this quaint neighborhood I was walking through is in the middle of an affluent area, so, I'll apologize up front for saying this, but who besides rich people would spend primo dollars on organic yogurt made specifically for a dog?

Of course, I'm intrigued now, so I go into the store, and not only are there loads of other organic foods for dogs but their are Raw foods as well. My goodness! Fido can eat Raw, Organic, and Vegan if his owner wanted. I'm not saying that Fido shouldn't eat healthy too, but are we now bordering on absurd or you just have way too much money to know what to do with?

And check out these treats. Looks to me like a shelf at Whole Foods for people food until you get to the bag that says, "Tiny Dots for Tiny Dogs". Nope, these are not people snacks, they're doggie treats. Some of us humans don't eat this well, and the owners who shop at this store can feed their canines better than people. Again, I can appreciate the desire to give your animal the best, but when does love of your animal simply turn into pet gluttony? There are people struggling and going without in our own neighborhoods, so is it wise or kind to have animals eat better than people? I can't justify this in my head. This is where I meet my threshold.

Nosh ideas: Tasty bits to jazz up your yogurt

I went to the SF Ferry Building Farmer's Market this weekend and had the pleasure of trying this Saint Benoit Yogurt which is made in Sonoma County from whole milk from Jersey cows and yogurt cultures from France. What I found unique about this yogurt is their concept of "terroir". From the Saint Benoit website:

"The founders of Saint Benoît Yogurt - brothers David and Benoît de Korsak - grew up in France and bring with them the concept of terroir, or food "of a place", reflecting the character of the land from which it came."

The yogurt is made in small batches and comes in these ceramic jars which you can reuse or return to the store where you bought the yogurt from. If you ever have a chance to try this yogurt, please do so because it is a whole different yogurt experience. At my local Whole Foods, the Saint Benoit was $2.19 which is pricey for yogurt but I think it's worth it, and it's a less fatty and caloric alternative to eating ice cream, not to mention all the probiotics you get for a healthy digestion track.

So, this absolutely divine yogurt got me thinking about ways to jazz up yogurt besides your traditional fruits like strawberries, blueberries, peach, and even lemon. Sometimes fruits make yogurts too sweet for my taste buds, so I like to use things that tone it down a bit. Here's some ideas to jazz up your yogurt:

• Raw Cacao Nibs
• Pistachios (In the picture, I slightly ground up some pistachios in a mini food processor)
• Shredded coconut
• Hemp nuts
• Flax
• Slightly ground Filberts aka Hazelnuts
• Sightly ground walnuts
• Slightly ground pecans (add with cacao nibs and a little brown sugar and it can taste like a chocolate pecan pie)
• Goji berries
• Slightly ground dried banana chips

What things do you jazz up your yogurt with?

Reminder: Food bars do have expiration dates

Steph: I'm hungry, you got anything I can nosh on?
Mustang: The only thing I have are some food bars. Sound appetizing?
[opens drawer filled with about 7 food bars. I take a peek around to see what's there]

Steph: So, these bars kinda look like they've been sitting here for awhile.
Mustang: Yeah. They probably have. I used to eat them all the time during that time I worked with a trainer.

Steph: Um....that was like 2 years ago
Mustang [pauses to reflect]: Oh....well, they should still be good. They're vacuum packed aren't they?

Steph: Actually, no. Food bars do have expiration dates. See, lemme show you.
Mustang: Well, how am I supposed to know that. Look, it's hidden underneath the fold of the wrapper. Whoever turns those things over anyway? I just tear and eat.
Steph [giggles]: Of course you do sweetie.

Sandwich uplift: Replace iceburg lettuce with other greens

Ice burg lettuce is nice and crunchy but can get kind of bland and boring after awhile. To add a new twist to your sandwiches, replace ice burg lettuce with some other tasty greens like:

Spinach
Arugala (my personal favorite)
Kale
Mizuna (a Japanese green)
Endive
Watercress
Sorrel
Swiss chard
Dandelion
Radicchio
Mustard Greens
Oakleaf

Many of these greens come in your typical bag of "Mixed Green" salad at the grocery store or salad bar. For more ideas on other greens, check out the Salad Greens section at the Cook's Thesaurus.