Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Foods to Eat, Foods to Avoid, My Brand Recommendations for the Average Foods, Part 2

One more day to go! Here are the Average Foods from the Great Physicians RX for Health & Wellness by Jordan Rubin.

Grains & Starchy Carbohydrates: (Whole grains and whole grain flours are healthiest if soaked for twelve hours before consuming)

Brown rice I love Lundberg Farms organic brown rice, and see Nourishing Traditions for a recipe where you soak the rice.
Oats You can buy organic oats at any health food store. Just don't buy the instant oats!
Kamut
Spelt
Barley
Corn Make sure you buy organic corn because of GMO's!
White potatoes
Whole grain pasta The best kind of pasta is Food for Life's sprouted Ezekiel pasta.
Wheat
Rye
Whole grain dried cereal The best cereal is Food for Life's Ezekiel sprouted pasta.

Sweeteners

Honey Our family's favorite honey is Really Raw Honey!
Stevia You can find organic stevia at any health food store.
Organic dehydrated cane juice I buy Rapunzel's Rapadura, and Wholesome Sweeteners makes a good organic dehydrated cane juice as well.
Maple syrup You can find organic maple syrup at any health food store, just make sure it's organic, as conventional varieties contain high amounts of formaldehyde!

Beverages (Organic)

Pasteurized vegetable juices R.W. Knudsen Organic and Santa Cruz Organic make good pasteurized veggie juices.
Pasteurized fruit juices (not from concentrate) Same goes for fruit juices- just make sure it doesn't say "from concentrate."
Beer and wine in moderation (organic and or/unpasteurized)
Fresh ground coffee (organic is best, but limit to one cup per day)

Snacks

Healthy popcorn (easy to make homemade, see a recipe in Nourishing Traditions)
Baked corn chips Guiltless Gourmet makes good baked corn chips, but the best are the ones fresh from your own oven! I love making them with Food for Life's sprouted corn tortillas!



3 comments:

Unknown said...

Catherine, what do you recommend using in place of brown sugar and vegetable/canola oil in recipes? I'm guessing olive oil would be the best choice for a vegetable oil substitution, but am curious to see what you do. Since brown sugar has such a different texture and moisture content than Rapadura, I'm not quite sure what to do. I'd like to maintain the integrity of my recipes, while using the healthiest options available. Also, what brand do you use for semi-sweet chocolate chips? I found 9 oz. bags of semi-sweet dollops from Rapunzel which I think I will start using; I don't care for the grain-sweetened variety in baking. Thanks.

Catherine said...

Hi Karen!

In place of vegetable/canola oil, I'd recommend organic butter (I use Organic Valley's cultured, unsalted butter) or using organic coconut oil. (I love Nutiva's!) As far as brown sugar goes, I have to say I've avoided recipes with brown sugar. I do have a friend who has made some kind of conversion, so let me ask her! For semi sweet chocolate chips, I LOVE those Rapunzel dollops! I have often cut them into smaller pieces. For other baking items, like powdered sugar, I like Wholesome Sweeteners organic powdered sugar, which is basically organic evaporated cane juice with organic corn starch added to thicken. Hope that helps!

Unknown said...

I just noticed your comment, Cath! Thank you so much! Next time I will try using butter for the vegetable oil and see how it goes. Maybe I should first warm it over the stove to liquify it, before mixing it in. I would love to hear about what your friend does for brown sugar. It's reassuring to hear you rave about Rapunzel's dollops; since WF does not carry them on the shelf, I will have to special order them in bulk (12 bags per case) my first time out the gate!! Thank you also for your powdered sugar recommendation. I know the product must be good if it has Catherine Slezinger's stamp of approval! :) I will check it out at WF on my next trip. Thanks a ton! You spared me from having to experiment with my coffee grinder! :) P.S. Have you tried Sucanat? What do you think of it?