Food

Food – Crispy Crunchy Cool Cucumber

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A luncheon of delicate, crustless sandwiches of thinly sliced cucumber summons the feeling of long, leisurely summer afternoons. Originating in India, their cultivation dates back about 4,000 years. The Greeks and the Romans valued their medicinal qualities and feasted on them in the hot summer months. The fruit eventually wove their way to France and the rest of Europe making their way onto every continent and into every cuisine today.

Cucumbers are actually a fruit. They are members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae, which also includes squashes and melons.

“Cucumber health benefits include reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, healthy weight management, detoxifying the body, enhancing the skin, supporting eye health, improving brain health, alkalizing the blood and treating cancer. Other benefits include combating bad breath, supporting digestion, controlling blood sugar levels, maintaining adequate blood pressure, supporting bones, repairing hair, supporting nails and supporting dental health.” www.naturalfoodseries.com/13-benefits-cucumber/

Cucumbers are more than 95 percent water. The term “cool as a cucumber” is a scientific fact. The inside temperature of a cucumber can be up to 20 degrees cooler than outside air, cooling the temperature of the blood during seasons of heat or dehydration.

Drinking fresh green juice is similar to receiving an intravenous infusion of vitamins, minerals and enzymes as they go quickly into the system without having to go through the digestive process.  Juice whole cucumbers. Skin and seeds are the most nutritious part so use organic if possible. Add cucumbers to smoothies—you won’t taste them. Use for dips, sliced, especially with hummus. Incorporate into chilled soups and sandwiches. Add to any variety of salad.

 

Creamy Cucumber Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

“Mayonnaise”

1 small cucumber, peeled

sea salt, to taste

2 Tbsp. raw cashews, soaked 2 hours in water, drained

2 Tbsp. toasted pine nuts, soaked 2 hours in water, drained

½ Tbsp. brown rice syrup, raw agave or coconut nectar

1 ½ Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1-2 tsp. water as needed to blend

 

Salad

4 ½ cups sliced cucumbers (4 medium size)

sea salt

2 cups cooked or 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed, drained

¼ cup red onion, chopped

¼ cup fresh dill weed, chopped, loosely packed or 1 Tbsp. dry, or to taste

sea salt

dash smoked paprika, garnish

 

Process

Place cucumber in colander; toss with salt. Drain, stirring every 10 minutes, for at least half an hour. Rinse and dry thoroughly.

Mayonnaise: Combine all ingredients in blender, scraping down sides. Add only enough water to blend smoothly.

Assemble: Combine salad ingredients—cucumbers, chickpeas, red onions, and dill in a bowl. Fold in “mayonnaise.” Add salt, additional dill as needed. Sprinkle with paprika. Serve cold.

Recipe – Multigrain Bread

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1 3/4 cups water

4 Tablespoons flaxseed

1/3 cup olive oil

1 to 2 teaspoons salt

1 cup white flour

4 Tablespoons gluten flour

1 cup rye flour

3 Tablespoons honey

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 to 4 teaspoons yeast

Mix warmed water, oil, honey, whole wheat flour, gluten flour, and yeast. Let set until bubbling. Mix in salt and flaxseed, and slowly add remaining flours. Knead well. Let rise until double in size, punch down; let rise again. Shape into two small loaves or one large loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes. Turn out onto cooling rack and paint with water to create a soft crust.

Food for Life – Importance of Health Reform

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In the vision given me [Ellen White] in Rochester, New York, December 25, 1865, I was shown that our Sabbath keeping people have been negligent in acting upon the light which God has given in regard to the health reform; that there is yet a great work before us; and that, as a people, we have been too backward to follow in God’s opening providence, as he has chosen to lead us.

“I was shown that the work of health reform has scarcely been entered upon yet. While some feel deeply, and act out their faith in the work, others remain indifferent, and have scarcely taken the first step in reform. There seems to be in them a heart of unbelief, and as this reform restricts the lustful appetite, many shrink back. . . .

“In order to be fitted for translation, the people of God must know themselves. . . . The body should be servant to the mind, and not the mind to the body.

“Some have sneered at this work of reform, and have said it was all unnecessary; that it was an excitement to divert minds from present truth. They have said that matters were being carried to extremes. Such do not know what they are talking about. While men and women professing godliness are diseased from the crown of their head to the soles of their feet, while their physical, mental, and moral energies are enfeebled through gratification of depraved appetite and excessive labor, how can they weigh the evidences of truth, and comprehend the requirements of God? If their moral and intellectual faculties are beclouded, they cannot appreciate the value of the atonement or the exalted character of the work of God, nor delight in the study of his Word. . . .

“There are but few as yet who are aroused sufficiently to understand how much their habits of diet have to do with their health, their characters, their usefulness in this world, and their eternal destiny. I saw that it is the duty of those who have received the light from heaven, and have realized the benefit of walking in it, to manifest a greater interest for those who are still suffering for want of knowledge. Sabbath keepers who are looking for the soon appearing of their Saviour should be the last to manifest a lack of interest in this great work of reform. Men and women must be instructed, and ministers and people should feel that the burden of the work rests upon them to agitate the subject, and urge it home upon others.” Review and Herald, April 30, 1914.

Recipe – Delicious Raw Cereal

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Ingredients

1 cup regular oats

1 cup water

½ cup raisins or other dried fruit

1 tasty grated apple (with peelings)

¼ cup raw almonds, slivered

3 Tbsp. honey

Process

Mix all together, adding water last. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Stir in the morning and eat! Berries, bananas, or other fruit in season can be added for extra flavor before eating. Enjoy!

Food – Peeled Apple?

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I am amazed when I see people peel an apple before eating it. Some just do not like the texture or the taste of the peelings but that is where much of the nourishment is. Just remember that you are not getting all an apple has to offer by peeling off the skin. Here are some very powerful reasons to never remove the skin again.

“The skin packs most of the fiber. A medium apple with the skin contains 4.4 grams of fiber. Without the skin, you’re only getting 2.1 grams, not even enough to qualify it as a “good source of fiber” (the cutoff is 3 grams).

“The skin also packs most of the vitamins. That same medium apple with skin packs 8.4 milligrams of vitamin C and 98 international units (IU) of vitamin A. Ditch the skin and that falls to 6.4 milligrams of vitamin C and 61 IU of vitamin A.

“Apples can ease breathing problems — but only if you eat the skin. The compound responsible is called quercetin, and it’s found mostly in the peel. One study found that people who eat five or more apples each week have better lung function thanks to quercetin’s effects, Health.com reported.

“Quercetin also protects your memory. The antioxidant seems to fight off tissue damage in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative problems — at least in rats, according to a 2004 study.

“A skin-on apple a day keeps spare pounds away. The peel is also home to ursolic acid, an important compound in the obesity-fighting ability of apples. Ursolic acid seems to increase muscle and brown fat, which increases calorie burn, thereby lowering obesity risk, at least in mice, according to a 2012 study.” www.huffpost.com/entry/never-peel-apple_n_4791328

 

Delicious Raw Cereal

Ingredients

1 cup regular oats

1 cup water

½ cup raisins or other dried fruit

1 tasty grated apple (with peelings)

¼ cup raw almonds, slivered

3 Tbsp. honey

 

Process

Mix all together, adding water last. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Stir in the morning and eat! Berries, bananas, or other fruit in season can be added for extra flavor before eating. Enjoy!

Recipe – Mixed Fruit Smoothie

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1/2 large orange

1/2 Cup frozen strawberries

1 frozen banana

1/4 Cup frozen peaches

2 Tablespoons powdered soy milk (optional)

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Sweeten with honey, pineapple, or white grape juice as desired.

Food for Life – Caffeine Drinks

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Seventy percent of the world’s coffee supply is consumed in the United States. Coffee, tea, and soda are the three greatest contributors of caffeine in the American diet. Within 30 minutes of consumption, caffeine reaches its peak levels in the blood.

Caffeine can have negative effects on our bones. The more regularly a woman drinks coffee, the more calcium is excreted in her urine. The loss adds up to about 65 mg of calcium for every six ounces of coffee or two cans of cola. Caffeine consumption is therefore a contributing factor for osteoporosis.

Caffeine also has detrimental effects on the brain. It undermines the functioning of the frontal lobe by affecting the levels of three important chemicals: acetylcholine, adenosine, and dopamine. Caffeine increases the levels of acetylcholine and dopamine and interferes with the transmission of adenosine. Adenosine slows down many aspects of brain nerve transmission. This function is weakened by caffeine, thus allowing the artificial stimulation that is known to occur with caffeinated beverages. Some psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia are due in part to elevated levels of dopamine. There also seems to be a link to decreased frontal lobe function and blood flow that is characteristic of depression.

In order to compensate for the changes that occur with chronic caffeine consumption, the brain actually alters its chemistry and structure. In so doing, the brain chemistry becomes unbalanced and is therefore dependent, or addicted to, the regular consumption of caffeine. Withdrawal symptoms often begin within 19 hours after the last consumption of caffeine and may include headaches, fatigue, sleepiness, laziness, decreased alertness, and decreased activity.

Some effects of caffeine include impaired physical and mental performance, interrupted sleep, and impacted spiritual and social dimensions of our character. It can cause toxicity and even death; it may be a co-carcinogen; it increases risk of low birth weight in infants; it elevates blood pressure and may elevate cholesterol; it can cause palpitations and other dangerous heart rhythms; it stimulates excess stomach acid and heartburn; and it may increase symptoms of PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome).

“When these tea and coffee users meet together for social entertainment, the effects of their pernicious habit are manifest. All partake freely of the favorite beverages, and as the stimulating influence is felt, their tongues are loosened, and they begin the wicked work of talking against others. Their words are not few or well chosen. The tidbits of gossip are passed around, too often the poison of scandal as well. These thoughtless gossipers forget that they have a witness. An unseen Watcher is writing their words in the books of heaven.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 36.

Recipe – Spiced Potato and Lentil Curry

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1 Tablespoon oil

1 Spanish onion, diced

1 red chili, deseeded and diced

1 Tablespoon ground coriander

1 Tablespoon ground turmeric

2 cloves garlic, crushed

6 medium potatoes, sliced thickly

3 to 4 cups cooked lentils

2 cups vegetable stock

Place a medium-sized, heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and add oil. When oil is hot, add onion, chili (optional), garlic, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add ground spices and potatoes and fry for 5 minutes. Add the cooked lentils and vegetable stock, then simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked and stock has evaporated. Serve with a green salad.

Food for Life – The Art of Cooking

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We can have a variety of good, wholesome food, cooked in a healthful manner, so that it will be palatable to all. It is of vital importance to know how to cook. Poor cooking produces disease and bad tempers; the system becomes deranged, and heavenly things cannot be discerned. There is more religion in good cooking than you have any idea of.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 157, 158.

“It is a religious duty for those who cook to learn how to prepare healthful food in different ways, so that it may be eaten with enjoyment. Mothers should teach their children how to cook. What branch of the education of a young lady can be so important as this? The eating has to do with the life. Scanty, impoverished, ill-cooked food is constantly depraving the blood, by weakening the blood-making organs. It is highly essential that the art of cookery be considered one of the most important branches of education. There are but few good cooks. Young ladies consider that it is stooping to a menial office to become a cook. This is not the case. They do not view the subject from a right stand-point.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 260.

“Food should be thoroughly cooked, nicely prepared, and appetizing. . . . It is much easier to create an unnatural appetite than to correct and reform the taste after it has become second nature.” Spalding and Magan Collection, 46.

“Cooking is no mean science and it is one of the most essential in practical life. It is a science that all women should learn, and it should be taught in a way to benefit the poorer classes. To make food appetizing and at the same time simple and nourishing, requires skill; but it can be done. Cooks should know how to prepare simple food in a simple and healthful manner, and so that it will be found more palatable, as well as more wholesome, because of its simplicity.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 257.

“We need a genuine education in the art of cooking. . . . Form classes where you may teach the people how to make good bread and how to put together ingredients to make healthful food combinations from the grains and the vegetables. Such an education will assist in creating a desire among our people to move out of the cities, to secure land in the country, where they can raise their own fruit and vegetables.” Medical Ministry, 267.

Recipe – Oatmeal Dinner Rolls

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From the kitchen of Teresa Grosboll

2 cups water

1 Tablespoon fructose

1 cup quick oats

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons trans-fat free margarine

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 slightly rounded Tablespoon active dry yeast

1−2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed

1/3 cup warm water

2 Tablespoons gluten flour

1/4 cup fructose and 1 Tablespoon molasses

Unbleached flour to knead

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add oatmeal and margarine; cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; cool to lukewarm. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 Tablespoon fructose. Add the oat mixture, sugars, salt, flax meal, gluten flour, whole wheat flour, and enough unbleached flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Shape into 18 balls. Place into greased 9-inch round baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to wire racks.