During my years in school while working in the restaurant business, I learned how to combine different ingredients to prepare extraordinary meals. Oh yes, straight-up, pure bon vivant, epicurean style! I love delicious foods, but when no doctor could tell me why I was experiencing so many chronic symptoms several years back, I was forced to consider how food impacted my wellbeing and learned how to prepare delicious foods that heal and delight!
I offer you 5 foods that are my top healing food recommendations … plus a recipe! But don’t let my one recipe limit you! Look for ways to incorporate these ingredients everyday in your juices, smoothies and salads! You will love the glowing benefits from the healing they promote!
Avocado: Yes, avocados are high in fat, heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, but are also loaded with soluble fiber (promotes gut health) and insoluble fiber (promotes regular bowel movements), 20 different beautifying vitamins and minerals, with disease-fighting antioxidants and more potassium than bananas!
Healthy fats reduce inflammation in the body and are essential for healthy brain function.
Plus, avocados offer a water-rich source of healing fats and fiber which dramatically promote nutrient absorption from other plant-based foods, and supple tissues and cells.
Sunflower Sprouts: Sunflower sprouts offer extraordinary nourishing benefits. They provide all essential amino acids, a balanced, absorbable form of a complete plant protein (25% protein), 100x the amount of beautifying enzymes provided by other greens and high levels of free-radical scavenging antioxidants. They boost your immune system, promote vitamin absorption and are a nutritional powerhouse packed with healthy fats, vitamins A, B-complex, D, and E, and minerals including calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus!
Like all sprouts and micro greens, sunflower sprouts provide a concentrated source of chlorophyll, the substance which makes plants turn green. The chemical structure of chlorophyll most closely resembles the chemical structure of hemoglobin, which nourishes healthy blood, reduces inflammation, calms the nervous system, revitalizes and cleanses tissues, and balances pH levels in the body.
Sunflower sprouts offer a high ratio of plant fat and calories, also making them a perfect addition to your fitness and beauty regiment.
Lacinato Kale: According to the Andi Score Chart, pound for pound, kale provides arguably the most nutrient-dense, healing benefits of any other food on the planet. Kale is anti-inflammatory, promotes detoxification at the cellular level, is high in antioxidants, Vitamin A and C, B-Complex and vitamin-K (supports calcium uptake and promotes neuronal function in the brain).
Lacinato Kale (also known as Dinosaur kae) has dark blue-green leaves and a slightly wrinkled, firm texture (the darker the blue-green color, the higher the phytochemical, Anthocyanin antioxidants concentration). Lacinato kale is slightly sweeter and more delicate taste than the curly kale.
Carrots: Carrots and carrot juice offer amazing healing benefits. Carrots lower cholesterol, increase absorption of nutrients from food, boost the immune system, reduce inflammation and protect the body from free radical damage, harmful bacteria and viruses. Carrots provide overall tonic and alkaline benefits to purify and revitalize your blood. They nourish, remineralize and balance your entire system.
Carrots, and especially carrot juice offer a highly energizing and beneficial effect on the kidneys and liver.
Wheatgrass, Barley and Alfalfa Grass: Wheatgrass, Barley and Alfalfa grasses contain all known vitamins and minerals, including 30 times more vitamin B1 and 11 times more calcium than in cow’s milk, 80 micrograms of vitamin B12 (excellent source for plant-based eaters) per 100 grams of dried barley plant juice and up to 1000 enzymes the body needs to regulate and function at the cellular level.
Grasses provide nutrients unavailable in full grown leafy greens, with the most bioavailable forms of nutrients to increase absorption, even in sluggish digestive systems. Barley grass offers whopping levels of the enzyme SOD (superoxide dismutase), which protect against premature aging.
And here’s the recipe I promised you…
Be True Heal You Salad
- 2 cups kale, chopped chiffonade
- 2 cups sunflower sprouts, chopped hearty
- 2 avocados, cubed/diced
- 1 cup carrot, finely diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 green apple, diced
- 1/2 jalapeno, minced
When chopping vegetables, create a range of textures, as suggested above
Lemon Vinagrette Dressing:
- 1 lemon, juice
- 2 Tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon raw honey
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Garnish: Raw pumpkin seeds, sprouted seeds if you can get them
Whisk ingredients together until well-combined and lightly thick.
Toss with chopped salad ingredients. Garnish with pumpkin seeds.
Buono Appetito!
Want more healing and beautifying recipes? Want to learn more ways to eat your way to your healthiest you? Ready to uplevel your get-healthy game? Get on the 'first to know' list about the special early offer I will make for my upcoming More Than A Detox program here.
