Raw Beet Salad with walnuts

Raw Beet Salad with Walnuts
Prep Time:  15 - 20 minutes

Beets are a root vegetable related to swiss chard. The pigment that gives beets their rich, purple-crimson color-betacyanin-is also a powerful cancer-fighting agent, which has been demonstrated in several studies. Beets' Betaine Helps Lessen Inflammation and are powerful anti-oxidants, and are a great source of minerals like folate, potassium, magnesium, and manganese.  While beets are delicious cooked this salad is all raw. Remember that you don't need to peel the skins of the root vegetables, but simply scrubbing them is enough - just make sure that you are buying organic.

Ingredients
4 cups beets grated
1 cup carrots grated
1/2 c raw walnuts
1 cup dried fruit ( currants, prunes)
1/4 chopped parsley
1 T flavored  vinegar, unseasoned rice vinegar, or lemon juice
1 tbsp Date Sugar (optional)


Directions
1. Lightly toast walnuts for 2 minutes
2. Wash and grate beets/carrots.  Using a food processor is faster, but I used a box grater. Wear gloves or wash your hands with some lemon juice since they will stain. Place in a bowl.
3. Add all of the other ingredients except walnuts and stir to mix.
4. I let this sit overnight in the refrigerator and added walnuts prior to serving to let the dried fruit loosen up and absorb some juices, but it's ready to eat as you make it.

References
About beets from whfoods.com

Help Jamie Oliver with his wish

Help Jamie Oliver with fulfilling his wish:

“I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”

One thing he mentioned we do is to teach our kids to cook healthy meals at home. No one can argue that we all need to eat more vegetables, so lets teach each other and our kids on how to prepare more of them.  I know there are many opportunities to do so every day.  Think about what's most important to you - is it a life free of disease, suffering, doctors visits, pain, etc?

I realize that priorities change with time so maybe these things become important when you actually get sick, or get older.  If you are a parent, model healthy eating at home and get educated about what foods you should eat most of for great health  and your child will inevitably pay attention and learn from you.

Another thing is to support the organizations that align themselves with promoting health instead of organizations that promote drug research.  Think of the millions of dollars we give to do the research, instead of supporting nutrition education for kids or local farmers who deliver fresh produce.

 

Organic Infant Formulas with DHA/ARA

Parents should be aware of the following Notice about Infant Formulas with DHA/ARA

In 2001, US infant formula manufacturers began adding a novel source of DHA and ARA that is manufactured by Martek Biosciences Corp. This DHA is derived from strains of algae; the ARA is manufactured using a non-toxigenic soil fungus. In 2006, organic infant formula companies began promoting their use of this same ingredient. The following is the manufacturing process described by Martek:
"The oil is then separated from the dried biomass by hexane extraction and centrifugation and/or filtration, followed by winterization. The hexane phase undergoes additional centrifugation/filtration to remove solids then the winterized oil is heated and treated with acid. Subsequently, the oil is treated with caustic, centrifuged, bleached and deodorized." ¹ Learn more at Cornucopia Institute
Sam Zeller, Ph.D. - Martek Biosciences Corporation, Food & Drug Administration Agency Response Letter, GRAS Notice No. GRN 000137
life'sDHA is a registered trademark of Martek Biosciences Corporation.

Also this report by Cornucopia Institute about the soybean industry sheds some light on companies  who we can trust and those who we probably cannot.