Sea Vegetables

Are you a sushi fan? Well, good news, the seaweed in your favorite California roll offers significant health-boosting benefits. However, for those of you scared away by the thought of slimy seaweed, before dismissing ever consuming the healthy sea vegetable, consider these five reasons showing seaweed to be a valuable source of nutrients.

So what are sea vegetables?

Low in Calories, High in Nutrients

 In about only 30 calories per cup, seaweed, also known as wakame, offers calcium, iodine, magnesium, iron, folate, and B vitamins. Seaweed is a rich source of eicosapentaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid, along with thiamine and niacin. Thanks to the nutritional value, wakame has been used throughout Asian history for intestinal strength, blood and lymph purification, skin and hair restoration, reproductive organs, and menstrual regularity.

 Benefits Digestive Health

 Japanese women have high numbers of healthy bacteria in their guts. Why? Because they consume lots of seaweed! Alginate, a thick substance found in the cells of brown seaweed, thickens gut mucus, which better protects the lining of the digestive tract. This in turn helps to slow down digestion – leading to slower and better absorption of the energy from food, which in turn leads to feeling fuller for longer.

 Detoxifying Properties

Seaweed has been used for centuries for its medicinal, detoxifying properties. Apart from seaweed baths and body wraps, eating seaweed detoxifies the body as well. Consuming seaweed helps to remove toxins and heavy metals, like cadmium, strontium, and lead, from within. In small quantities, many heavy metals are necessary to sustain life. In high amounts, however, these metals can have serious adverse effects on the body’s health.

 Heart Healthy

Some of the world’s longest living individuals live in Okinawa, Japan – a region where eating seaweed is commonplace. People from Okinawa have unclogged arteries, low cholesterol, and minimal heart disease rates. Interestingly enough, these same people eat multiple portions of sea vegetables, including seaweed, on a daily basis. Why might this be? The fibers in seaweed may help lower blood pressure and reduce chances of stroke and heart attack.

 High In Iodine

Western culture could certainly learn a thing or two from the Japanese diet where the intake of iodine from seaweed is among the highest in the world. Iodine is critical for proper thyroid function. Without it, the thyroid increases in size, creating a goiter, in search of any possible iodine in the body. Low thyroid function is also characterized by fatigue, cold hands and feet, weight gain, brittle hair and nails, and dry skin. In addition to the thyroid, iodine deficiency is associated with mental retardation, as sufficient amounts of iodine are necessary for suitable brain growth and development.

Seaweed offers some of the highest levels of iodine naturally available. Natural sources of iodine are preferred because the body can better process and absorb iodine when consumed in a natural form. Supplements of iodine also run the risk of consuming too much iodine, which can be dangerous to health.

For a nutrient-dense, flavor-packed meal, use seaweed in soups, salads, side dishes, and sushi. The nutritional value of this treasure of the sea offers one of the greatest ranges of minerals found in all foods!

The Perfect Snack: Stella’s Quinoa Stuffed Seaweed Wrap

Conventional chickens are processed under inspected, but still questionably unsanitary conditions. While these practices are all too common in America, the 27 member states of the European Union consider these practices unsafe and forbid them.

Conventional Bleached Chicken

Conventional Practices

Many conventional chickens were pumped with antibiotics to promote growth, and washed in chlorine for bleaching and contamination. Along with routine antibiotics and chlorine baths, conventionally raised chickens are fed arsenic.

Dr. David Wallings of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy recommends avoiding chicken raised with arsenic. Arsenic is added to the chickens’ diet because it reduces infections and makes the meat a pleasant shade of pink. You probably think nothing of making chicken for dinner; however, the arsenic remains inside the chicken’s tissues, increasing your chances of arsenic exposure.

Another study by the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future found not only arsenic within chicken meat, but also illegal antibiotics, the antihistamine used in Benadryl, and acetaminophen, the ingredient used in Tylenol and other pain medications.

Take a look at this post on factory farmed animals.

Organic Chicken

Why You Should Choose Organic

Organic chicken producers offer healthier, cleaner meat. They do not use antibiotics and other “animal drugs,” and cannot provide feed with animal slaughter byproducts. Their methods also lead to less contamination – one study, which tested 300-400 samples of chicken, found that organic broiler farms had a 4.3% prevalence rate of salmonella, while conventional farms had seven times that rate at 28.8%.

While conventional chickens are fed a grain-based diet, organic chickens are pasture-fed. The USDA found that the free-range diet, which includes grass, seeds, and insects, results in chicken with lower fat levels, more vitamin A, and increased omega-3 fatty acids.

 Look for organic chicken available through local farmers and producers who can assure the chickens were not exposed to arsenic, antibiotics, and other harsh practices. Making the right choices for meat and poultry can ensure a safer, healthier diet.

Yours In Health,

Stella Metsovas B.S., CCN

Staff Writer: Lauren Ball

References

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/07/11/superbug-dangers-in-chicken-linked-to-8-million-at-risk-women/

http://bcbsmnfoundation.com/pages-mediacenter-perspectives-Tackling_the_Toxic_Table_in_a_Global_Economy_Ten_Steps_We?oid=8893

http://blogs.webmd.com/health-ehome/2009/10/

http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/nutritional-differences-between-pasturefed-chickens-vs-non-2413.html

http://www.chickenwortheating.com/chicken.php

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/30/less-salmonella-organic-chicken_n_842703.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/opinion/kristof-arsenic-in-our-chicken.html

First of all, what is coconut water? Not to be confused with coconut milk or coconut meat, coconut water is the clear liquid found in young coconuts. They’ve always been a popular drink in the tropics, especially in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, where they are readily available. Packaged brands of this drink have recently taken the U.S. by storm with their claims of all-natural nourishment and ample electrolytes. Supposedly, they are a healthy alternative to sports drinks and water with electrolytes (this is the ‘claim’ behind coconut water) because drinks like Gatorade are known to have lots of sugar, calories, and artificial flavors and artificial colors.

However, according to ConsumerLab.com, these claims may not have much merit. Sodium levels, the main advertised benefit of coconut water, were tested in the three most popular brands. It turns out that Zico Natural Premium Coconut Water was the only brand that contained amounts near that of a drink like Gatorade.The other two brands only had 18 and 59 percent of the advertised sodium levels. Sodium is a common electrolyte that is lost through sweat.

Don’t dismiss this beverage just yet though. There is still far less sugars in coconut water than in Gatorade (about half as much), and there are none of those artificial sweeteners and colors which we should be avoiding. In addition, coconuts contain a variety of antioxidants and other nutrients. Also, the Consumer Lab report does state that it is an excellent source of potassium. So, unless you are an athlete like Michael Phelps or someone that needs serious sodium and other electrolyte replacement from strenuous exercise and sweating, supplement your health with a fresh coconut once in awhile. The benefits may be slightly questioned in the Consumer Lab study, but they are backed by generations of practice and tradition.

Try my Homemade Electrolyte Drink without the sugars:

 Ingredients 

Sharing a family heirloom recipe: Fish Baked with Tomatoes >>>The secret to keeping the fish moist are the tomatoes that release their juice while baking. You’ll love this simple, fresh and quick recipe!

 Grilled Calamari, Arugula, Olive and Grapefruit Salad  

Stella's Gluten Free Brownies

 
 Stella’s Organic, Gluten Free Brownies

Incredibly delicious, sweet and savory! 

Stella's Low Carb Moussaka

There’s always that “wow factor” when incorporating lavender in anything chicken.  Enjoy my ‘Lavender Roasted Chicken’ recipe below!

Stella’s Lavender Roasted Chicken

Stella’s French Herbes de Provence

 Ingredients 

1. 1 Whole Organic Chicken
2. 1 Cup Dry White Wine
3. 1 Tablespoon Butter
4. 3 Tablespoons Herbes de Provence
5. (Optional) 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lavender
6. 1 Garlic Clove Crushed
7. 2 Shallots Chopped Thin
8. Fingerling Potatoes

 Directions

Dress the chicken by rubbing crushed garlic around the flesh & gently glaze with olive oil.

Place in a roasting dish (Le Crueset is my favorite). Add the spices into a bowel with the butter, embedding the spices into the butter.

Gently stuff the chicken with the butter mixture and around the exterior. I like to add fresh thyme and lavender inside the bird as well.

Add the potatoes and shallots around the chicken, mixing 1 cup of white wine.

Finally, spice with a generous amount of sea salt and pepper.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 1 hour(s) 15 minute(s)

Diet tags: Reduced carbohydrate, High protein, Gluten free

Number of servings (yield): 6

Culinary tradition: Irish

5 :  ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

P.S., my favorite chickens to purchase are those that are pasture raised and air chilled, like Mary’s California Bronze Chicken

Mary’s California Bronze Pasture Raized Chicken

Favorite uses for South African Smoke:

• Baked sweet potato spiced with SAS and topped with Ghee

• Roasted turkey breast

• White fish and SAS