YERBA MATE

Bought Brendan Brazier's (Vegan Triathlete) book Thrive Diet and love it because I do a few sprint triathlons as well as practice and teach barre/cycle/pilates and of course do yoga in-between everything else.

I like the idea of fueling the body with pure ingredients that the body can digest and put into action right away, ingredients that are from the earth, in it's natural state - not manufactured in a factory or laboratory with ingredients that I've never heard of or can't even pronounce! SO in my research with Brendan's books and beyond I came across Yerba Mate.

Yerba Mate's (yer-bah-mah-tay) claim to fame is it has "the strength of coffee, the health benefits of tea and the euphoria of chocolate all in one beverage". It gives the body both energy and nutrition. It does contain caffeine, theophylline and theobromine (all stimulants in coffee, tea and chocolate) BUT unlike coffee it has low tannin content and is not acid forming.

It is made from naturally caffeinated leaves from the South American rainforest's Holly Tree.

These leaves provide 24 vitamin and minerals, 15 amino acids and antioxidants. It practically holds "all of the vitamins necessary to sustain life" according to a Pasteur Institute study. The rainforest people find invigoration, focus, nourishment and rejuvenate benefits from Yeba Mate.

I brought to class last Saturday. I made it in my French Press coffee maker - buy loose-leaf and make in the french press or even can make in your espresso maker! If you buy the Mate Gourd let me know:)
You can find at Whole Foods or other health food markets!

RAW FOOD WORKSHOP

Hey all,

Went to a raw foods workshop with David Wolfe at the Inn at the Black Olive - Amazing restaurant called the Olive Room hosted it in a beautiful setting overlooking downtown Baltimore! We had many courses including Green shots, Gazpacho Soup, Sprouted Enzyme salad with grated turmeric root, Chia berry mousse tart, raw goji cacao truffles and biodynamic wine!

I was so impressed with the Inn at the Black Olive  (South Caroline street in Baltimore), it is a completely sustainable building that was built in 2011. It has geothermal heating and cooling system, counterweight elevators and a green roof for growing their own food. All of the walls in the building are made out of mineral limestone with olive oil paints and the floors are aerated autoclave concrete that allows ventilation. The 12 luxurious suites at the inn are of earth-freindly comfort! Hand crafted organic mattresses, coupled with the sanijet pipeless hydrotherapy tubs for zero carbon luxury.

Soul Body is partnering with them for a Soul Yoga/Pure Foods event Thursday July 12th - so if you live in Baltimore or a planning a trip to the city, come to the event!! Stay tuned for more info...

Glad to be back and writing again:)
Ann Marie

It's Been A While!

Oh my goodness I am back and blogging again. I started my own Barre/Pilates method of teaching with my business partner Stacey and we are currently teaching our method at Pro Fit Rx in Timonium. Our website is www.soulbodybaltimore.com - linked from my profile on this site and I am also blogging on that site as well. I am so excited to be back and hope you will all find me again, I'll have to figure out how to send a message to you all! Quick blog tonight - I found an amazing "protein powder" for my morning shakes called VEGA - it is a Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer - an All-In-One natural plant-based formula. It has Omega 3 and 6 EFAs, enzymes, probiotics @ phytonutrients. Alkaline forming, made from organic hemp protein, yellow pea protein, organic brown rice protein, whole flax seeds - it has maca, ORAC 800 plus blueberry, black raspberry, cherry, marion berry, blackberry and a probiotic blend - AMAZING!

I got the Chocolate flavor and blend with either almond or rice milk, banana and almonds or almond butter or frozen fruit - it's super healthy and kept me full until lunch - love that:)

Food as Medicine

I was raised by a mother who always claimed the benefits or harm of the foods we ate. Back in the days before there was medicine, food was medicine. People would eat chicken soup for congestion or champagne for blood infections. I just got the "John's Hopkins" Health magazine and they were saying that 64% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese and given the effect on cardiac, vascular and cancer related diseases, researchers are taking a closer look at food and how it can heal, enhance lives, prevent diseases and of course negatively affect our health - it's about time!

Junk foods high in fat and sugar - like fast foods - can contribute to inflammation (localized tissue reaction to injury, infection or irritation) and can lead to heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Chronic inflammation is also being linked to cancer. Now within the last five years doctors and researchers are looking to food to help heal the body.

Cloves and walnuts can help reduce inflammation. According to this article I read, Integrative gastroenterologist Gerard Mullin, M.D. says certain foods may even replace drugs. Ginger, for example, can help prevent nausea and gastric dysfunction and he says ginger works the same way a powerful anti-nausea drug works - working on the same receptors of the brain.

I did a little research myself on the foods that heal and how through eating the right foods we can help fight of chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer - two of the biggest killers!

Here are just a few...and I have also listed the powerful affects of greens in previous blogs.

• apples - protect your heart, prevents constipation, blocks diarrhea, improves lung capacity and cushions your joints
• apricots - combats cancer, controls blood pressure, saves eyesight, sheilds against Alzheimers, slows the aging process
• avocadoes - battle diabetes, lowers cholesterol, helps prevents strokes, controls blood pressure, smoothes skin
• beans - prevent constipation, help hemorroids, lowers cholesterol, combats cancer, stabilizes blood sugar
• blueberries - combat cancer, protects your heart, stabilizes blood sugar, boosts memory, prevents constipation
• broccoli - strengthens bones, saves eyesight, combats cancer, protects your heart, controls blood pressure
• grapes - saves eyesight, fights kidney stones, enhances blood flow, protects your heart
• grapefruit - protects against heart attacks, promotes weight loss, helps stop strokes, combats prostate cancer, lowers cholesterol
• mushrooms - controls blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, kills bacteria, combats cancer, strengthens bones
• strawberries - combats cancer, protects your heart, boosts memory, calms stress
• tomatoes - protects prostate, fights cancer, lowers cholesterol, protects heart
• walnuts - lowers cholesterol, combats cancer, boosts memory, lifts mood, protects against heart disease

Here are a couple good combos of healing juices - I recommend the book "The Juice Lady's Juicing for High Level Wellness and Vibrant Good Looks" by Cherie Calbom - but here are a couple of ideas (juices and foods) from a website called "www.fatfreekitchen.com".

• Arthritis - apple, banana, mango, cucumber, garlic
• Asthma - garlic
• Cancer fighting juice - carrot, garlic, lime, lemon
• Constipation - almonds, cabbage, carrot, cucumber, lime, lettuce, banana, beet root, corn, dates, figs, raisins, soyabeans, spinach, whole wheat bread
• Heart Disease - cabbage, carrot, honey, apple, asparagus, garlic, onions, oranges, grapes, grapefruit, lime, lemon, raisins

TAKE AWAY:

A book that further digs into the fighting disease with food is "Foods that Heal" by Bernard Jensen and I also found another blog that you may be interested in on this subject, http://foodsthatheal.blogspot.com/

Think about what you are eating before you put it in your mouth - is it good for you and ask yourself......

"What is this food going to do for me? Is it going to help me look beautiful, feel energetic, make me lean and fight off disease or is it going to make my skin break out, constipate me, make me bloated and fat, and cause me to die at a young age?" Look at the food you are eating - if it is mostly brown - reconsider. Think green, yellow, orange, red....Think lots and lots of vegetables, whole grains like brown rice and quinoa, nuts, beans and if you are eating fish, meat or chicken/eggs - make it organic, free range, grass fed, fresh caught.....

STOP AN THINK before you eat!

FISH!

As many of you have already read, I have cut out dairy, red meat, chicken, artificial sweeteners, processed foods....from my diet. I am still eating fish and wanted to delve into the world of fresh caught vs. farm raised fish. I wanted to further investigate what's in the farmed raised fish that I may be eating. The world has a huge population of people but the amount of farmland has decreased, so we look to the oceans for our food. According to John Robbin's book "The Food Revolution" the number of fish caught in our oceans from 1950 to 1990 increased from 19 million tons to 89 million tons. But today that number remains around the same because our world's fisheries are seriously depleted. We are over fishing and 34% of all fish species are in danger of extinction.

Fish factories cannot fill their quota because the number of fish has decreased, so they are dropping their nets deeper into the ocean, pulling up smaller fish, sometimes using them to sell, but often discarding them, thereby taking the food straight out of the mouths of the bigger fish - basically sweeping the oceans clean and interfering with the food chain, and as a result fish are disappearing. Half of the world's fish caught is fed to livestock - Tyson's Chicken takes about 800,000 pounds of fish in a single netting with a $40 million super trawler to make its products and or feed to livestock.

Because of the decrease of wild fish and because we have such a huge population and so many mouths to feed there is a huge increase in fish farms. "Aquaculture" - def. from wikipedia (the farming of freshwater and saltwater organisms such as finfish, mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Also known as aquafarming, involves cultivating aquatic populations under controlled conditions and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is harvesting of "wild fish". Commercial aquaculture supplies ONE HALF of the fish and shellfish that is directly consumed by humans). All the catfish and rainbow trout, half the shrimp and 1/3 the salmon eaten today in the US are from fish farms.

Aquaculture has not really helped take the pressure off marine ecosystems. According to John Robbin's book, the farming of shrimp, salmon, trout, bass and yellowtail has actually put more demand on marine production in order to produce feed for the farmed fish. It takes 5lbs of wild ocean fish to produce a single pound of farmed saltwater fish or shrimp.

According to research from Stanford's Institute for International Studies " Aquaculture (aka: fish farming) is a contributing factor to the collapse of fisheries stocks around the world". Fish farming may cause fish low on the marine food chain such as herring, mackerel and sardines to disappear completely from the world's oceans.

Ok, as with factory farming, and we've all read how terrible the conditions are, the stress these animals are under and the crap that is given to them to eat - which we essential eat - are no different from the conditions in these fish farms! Parasites and disease thrive in the packed conditions of the fish farm and these diseases can be spread to the wild fish. The fish are in confined spaces which can cause stress as well as disease. Just like factory farming uses antibiotics and chemicals to fight off diseases in live stock, fish farmers also use chemicals to kill bacteria, herbicides to prevent plant growth in ponds, and drugs to fight off parasites and some fish farms use growth hormones and some are fed genetically modified corn. Up to 40,000 fish can be crammed in a cage, they cannot swim freely and farm raised salmon is given artificial pigments to give it the color that wild salmon have who get their "natural" pink/orange color from eating krill.

If you want your omega 3s from salmon - get it from wild salmon - farm raised has half the essential nutrients.

TAKE AWAY

Next time you are at the fish market or dining out, ask for wild, fresh caught fish, farm raised is not as good for you and aquafarming has a negative impact on wild caught fish, especially salmon. Do your research. It all seems to come back to the big business of the meat industry - in 1997 22 million tons of wild fish were caught and used for pig and cow feed!

dining out, recipes, chia seeds!

Hello all, ugh it's been a while, I have been crazy busy, but am back and will keep it short and sweet tonight! Met my cousin this week at "Volt" in Frederick, Md. I am hooked to "Top Chef"on Bravo and loved the last one with the Voltaggio Brothers who were like 1 an 2 in the season finale. They are amazing chefs and one of the brothers, chef Bryan Voltaggio showcases his "classic flavor combinations prepared with fresh local ingredients" at this restaurant located in a 19th century brownstone mansion in historic Frederick with a cool, modern vibe and amazing food! We had the 3 course lunch, they offer a 5 course as well, and loved every fresh ingredient with an artful twist - of course paired with wine! I highly recommend going as soon as you can pull it off - it's not inexpensive, but trust me, it is worth every penny! Let me know if anyone wants to go and I'll join you! Check out their website at www.voltrestaurant.com.

I also got an email today from my wonderful cousin who I met there for lunch about another restaurant called Patowmack Farm. Their website states "from our farm to your table, we offer our guests a rate experience: a distinctive atmosphere, local, organic cuisine and a seat with a view of the Potomac river". They offer certified, naturally grown and organic produce, organic wild and natural meats, sustainable seafood as well as biodynamic wines! Sounds really food to me. Their website is www.patowmackfarm.com.

My vegan/yogi friend Rachel just sent me a great recipe for a "strawberry shortcake pink smoothie" and "Two Kale Cranberry Salad". Here are the recipes - enjoy!

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE SMOOTHIE:

• half med beet
• 1 large carrot
• 2ts vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup coconut water
• 1/4 cup cashews or almonds
• 1/4 cup dates

Blend together then add 12 frozen strawberries and blend again.

TWO KALE CRANBERRY SALAD:

• dinasour kale
• curly kale
• crisp tart apples
• raw walnut

Cranberry dressing:

• 1 1/2c fresh or reconstituted dried cranberries
• 3/4 c apple juice
• 1/4 c pure maple syrup
• 1/3 c olive oil
• TBSP dijon mustard
• 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• salt
• pepper

blend all ingredients together. Toss 2o minutes before serving.

Both are yum and totally healthy!

TAKE AWAY:

Couple little tidbits I read from one of my fitness magazines:

1. Goat's milk ice cream called "Laloos's" is made from the milk of goats that freely graze on the hillsides of Sonoma Valley and the farmland near Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin. It's half the fat of premium cow's milk ice cream. It contains less water and more solids which means no added cream is necessary. It also has more minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium) than cows milk brands and these goats are free of antibiotics and growth hormones. Deep Chocolate, Black Mission Fig and Capraccino are the favorites!
2. Too much soda, even zero calorie can increase your risk to kidney failure!
3. Consuming more that 74 grams of fructose per day (about the amount found in 2 chocolate shakes) can raise your risk of stage 2 hypertension. Fructose activates inflammation.

Lastly, not sure I mention Chia Seeds. I just bought a bag called "Ultimate Chialife". It's high in fiber, richest known vegetable source of Omega 3 fatty acids, it has 3x the antioxidants of blueberries, more calcium than milk and more iron than spinach and a better source of protein source than beans or soy.

I put it in my shakes, but you can eat out of the bag - although the seeds are tiny - or you can put on cereal, yogurt or salads or add to baked goods.

Healthy Eating- a Family Affair

I watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (fridays 9pm on ABC) and was almost as upset as he was about the crap our schools are feeding our kids! I know, I've worked in the cafeteria at my kid's school and I have seen the choices: Chocolate milk, strawberry milk, chicken nuggets, pizza, mac and cheese, and the best one from my kid's school is "taco in a bag" which is a bag of Doritos with meat sprinkled inside the bag - UGH! This show takes place in Huntington, West Virginia which was dubbed the "unhealthiest city in America" with a largely obese population and people dying premature deaths because of bad eating habits and lack of exercise. His quest is to change what the cafeterias are feeding these kids in Huntington by educating the kids, teachers, parents, lunch ladies and convincing those in charge that cafeteria cooking can be like restaurant cooking with fresh, raw ingredients, including meats, chicken, fruits, vegetables prepared to order, not a bunch of boxes in a freezer that are simply reheated. It was amazing when he went into the class room and held up a bunch of vegetables and asked the kids what each one was - none of them knew one!

After watching Jamie teach an obese 6th grader, from a family that ate very unhealthy (their deep frier was the most used appliance in the house) to cook, it motivated me to teach my own kids. My kids are in the kitchen with me a lot, but this time I asked my 5th grader to put together a menu he wanted to make and I would help him prepare it. He chose to make a shrimp and spinach sauce served over rice pasta topped with Feta Cheese. I wasn't about to squash the cheese idea - so we went with it! All my kids loved it and my son was so proud of his efforts. My 4th grader is on tomorrow night - he wants to make turkey tacos with whole grain soft tortillas topped with salsa. Although I am not eating meat, it is hard for my kids to eat a total vegetarian diet (for now) so I'm buying the freshest of meats when possible and supporting their culinary quests. I always make a huge salad chock full of veggies or have broccoli, asparagus, sweet potatoes, carrots as a healthy side. We never open a box of anything and reheat it!

I was asked by a friend about lunches. I always pack my kids lunch, they will buy occasionally when it is something they really want like "thanksgiving meal" or "french toast day" as a special treat, but they rarely buy. Lunches are hard because I really don't like lunch meats and there is only so many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches you can make. If I am going to make peanut butter and jelly, the peanut butter I buy is "Tree of Life" Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter because no salt is added and the only ingredient is organic dry roasted unblanched Valencia peanuts - how great is that? As far as jelly, you have to watch out for added sugar, look for jams sweetened only with fruit juice or even pure cane sugar - stay away from any with high fructose corn syrup. Cranberries and cherries are so crazy healthy for you, I often take fresh or frozen cranberries or cherries, put them in a stock pot with pure maple sugar, cook it down - maybe add a little Arrow Root as a thickener and make my own jam!

As far as lunch meats go, they are filled with sodium (sometimes as high as 1,000 mg per serving) and preservatives such as sodium nitrate which are converted into chemicals called nitrosamines in the stomach. Nitrosamines have been shown to cause cancer in lab animals. Best bet would be to buy a fresh turkey, slice it yourself and put on your sandwich. We will go to Whole Foods and buy their low sodium, fresh off the bone turkey. What we do is put a few slices of turkey and pile our kids sandwich sky high with romaine lettuce - which my kids love. We put a little "Spectrum" eggless, vegan light canola may on whole grain bread and done! We don't give them lunch meat everyday. We'll make tuna salad on whole grain wraps like "Mission Multi Grain" wraps and of course pack with lettuce (unfortunately my kids will not eat tomatoes). As far as snacks in their lunch, we pack grapes/apples(fruit), pretzels, veggie chips, cucumbers/carrots/celery and a water bottle.

TAKE AWAY

As I saw with the family Jamie Oliver was trying to help eat healthier (he had them bury their deep fryer in the backyard) it takes a family to make healthy choices and positive changes. It is hard to do over night, but over time, day by day, start clearing out the junk and filling it in with fresh veggies, fruits and whole grains. It is time consuming I will admit, but stay far away from processed foods! If you want junk food, make it yourself!