Tag Archives: vegetarian

7 Summertime Eating Tips for Care Partners

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It’s summertime, and the livin’ is easy—or at least we’d like it to be. If you’re tired and stressed out from care giving, here are some tips to make mealtime easier, for you and your care partner.

According to the ancient Indian system of Ayurveda our body consists of three main elements or doshas—Vatta, Pitta and Kapha. Pitta consists of water and fire. It’s hot, so during summer when the temperature rises we want to eat cooling foods. Eating cooling foods not only keeps us from overheating, it reduces the tendency to get irritable, impatient and angry.

1)   First and foremost, stay hydrated. It’s especially important to make sure dementia patients are getting enough liquids because they forget to drink and can become dehydrated quickly, which leads to other health problems. It’s also crucial to keep the brain hydrated in order to maintain cognition. Drink plenty of water and stay away from carbonated and caffeinated drinks. Herbal teas, and fresh fruit or vegetable juices are great in summer. Just remember that fruit juices are high in sugar and calories.

2)   Enjoy the bounty of summer fruits and vegetables. The summer fruits such as peaches, apricots, cherries, watermelon, cantaloupe, and berries are especially good for helping the body reduce the fiery heat of summer. According to Ayurveda, some of the recommended summer vegetables include cucumber, green leafy vegetables, green beans, squash, zucchini, asparagus, beets and eggplant.

3)   Sprinkle on the herbs and spices. They’re easy to use and contribute added flavor and antioxidants to your diet. Cooling spices include cardamom, coriander, fennel and tumeric. Cooling herbs include cilantro, mint and dill.

4)   Avoid hot, sour and salty foods including fermented food, red meat, and greasy and spicy food. Excess pitta aggravates the tendency towards heartburn and gastric hyperacidity.

5)   Here’s some good news—Ayurveda recommends ice cream during the hot summer months! So by all means, enjoy! Dementia patients are especially fond of ice cream. If the person you are caring for refuses to eat or eats very little, try serving ice cream. It contains protein, calcium and calories, and it’s easy to serve and eat. If weight gain or cholesterol is a concern, select a dairy-free version of America’s favorite dessert. Rice Cream, Coconut Bliss and Soy Delicious make delicious non-dairy, frozen desserts.

6)   My roses are bursting with fragrance and beauty. Roses are especially cooling and ff you have rose bushes that are free of chemicals, here’s a special treat to make: Rose Petal Jam. It’s fun and easy and the person you are caring for might even like to get into the act. It’s also very cooling and pacifies irritability. Spread it on toast, put a teaspoon on top of a scoop of ice or add it to warm milk for a yummy nightcap. (see recipe below)

7)    Make a lassi using a tablespoon of rose petal jam. Or use this delicious recipe to make the classic, cooling Indian-style milkshake.

Rose Petal Jam

 Ingredients

  • 1 cup fresh rose petals (must never have been sprayed with any chemicals)
  •  3/4 cup water
  • 1 lemon, juice of (1/4 cup)
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar or evaporated cane juice crystals
  • 1 package pectin
  • 3/4 cup water

 

 

 

 

Directions

  1. Puree rose petals, 3/4 cup water and lemon juice in blender until smooth.
  2. Slowly add sugar.
  3. Blend till all sugar has dissolved; (leave in blender) Stir 1 package pectin into 3/4 cup water, bring to a boil, and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour mixture into blender with rose petal mixture until well blended.
  4. Do this very quickly – it sets up FAST!! Pour into small, sterilized jelly jars.
  5.  Let set for 6 hours, till firm.
  6. Will keep one month in refrigerator.
  7. Freezes well.

Rose Water Lassi

  • 2 1⁄2 cups plain yogurt

  • 1/2-teaspoon fine sugar

  • ¼ tsp of ground cardamom
  • 2 teaspoons pure rosewater

  • 3⁄4 cups Ice water

  • 1 cup Ice cube cracked

  • Fragrant rose petals for garnish

Blend the yogurt, sugar, cardamom, rose water and iced water in a blender for 2 minutes. Add the ice and process for another 2 minutes. Pour the lassi into tall, refrigerated glasses and garnish with rose petals. Chill out and enjoy!

An Avocado A Day Does A Body Good

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I’ve never liked them, but after reading the newly released study done by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a program of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), I am inclined to force myself to develop a taste for avocados—-or at least try.

The study followed more than 17,000 American adults for 7 years and found that the people who ate any amount of avocados over a 24-hour period had better overall diets and health indicators than those who did not eat avocados.

On average, the avocado consumers in the survey ate about one half of a medium-size avocado, with men eating slightly more than women.

What’s so special about avocados?

They contain 6 vitamins (A, C, D, E, K and the B complex), monounsaturated fats, potassium, magnesium, and lutein, an antioxidant carotenoid that is important for supporting eye and skin health.

In the study, the avocado consumers showed significant numerous health indicators:

  • Higher intakes of important nutrients including 36% more dietary fiber, 23% more vitamin E, 13% more magnesium, 16% more potassium and 48% more vitamin K than non-consumers.
  • Significantly higher intakes of “good” fats (18% more monounsaturated and 12% more polyunsaturated) and total fats (11% more) than non-consumers, although average caloric intake of both groups was the same.
  • Significantly lower BMI values than non-consumers.
  • Significantly smaller waist circumference measures than non-consumers (an average of 4 cm smaller).
  • They weighed significantly less than non-consumers (an average of 7.5 pounds less).
  • Significantly higher HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels.
  • The study found that avocado consumers had a 50% lower odds ratio for metabolic syndrome compared to non-consumers. Metabolic syndrome is a name given to a group of risk factors which, when they occur together, increase the risk for coronary artery disease, stroke and type-2 diabetes.

Recipes

Everyone knows about guacamole and adding avocado to your salad or sandwich. But there are loads of other ways to enjoy avocados. Here are a few recipes to try:

Tropical Salsa

  • 3/4 cup(s) diced fresh or juice-packed pineapple
  • 1/4 cup(s) finely chopped red onion
  • 1/4 cup(s) finely chopped red bell pepper
  • cup(s) lightly packed cilantro, chopped
  • 3 tablespoon(s) lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon(s) honey, or to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon(s) hot pepper sauce, or to taste
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 ripe avocado

Directions

  1. Put ingredients except avocado in a serving bowl. Just before serving, dice avocado, add and gently mix.
  2. Serve with lean fish, meat or poultry.

Orange and Avocado Salad

  • 3 tablespoon(s) freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 5 1/2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
  • 5 1/2 teaspoon(s) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon(s) pepper
  • 1 navel orange
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 1 bag(s) (10 oz) salad blend
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

  1. Dressing: Whisk orange juice, oil, lemon juice, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper in a medium-serving bowl to blend.
  2. Cut peel and white membrane off orange. Cut in half lengthwise; slice crosswise.
  3. Cut avocado in half lengthwise around seed; rotate halves to separate. Scoop out seed with a spoon. Place halves cut side down; pull off skin.
  4. Slice avocado and add to bowl with dressing along with orange, the salad blend and scallions; toss gently to mix and coat.

– See more at: http://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/30-awesome-avocado-recipes-36194

Yummy Tomato Soup 

  • (11-in. diameter) flour tortillas
  • ½ cup 
diced red bell pepper
  • ½ cup 
diced green bell pepper
  • ⅓ cup 
chopped onion
  • 3 Tbsp. 
butter
  • 8 
eggs
  • ¼ tsp. 
salt
  • ½ cup 
shredded low-fat pepper jack cheese
  • 1 
ripe, Fresh California Avocado seeded, peeled and diced
  • Sour cream for garnish

Tomatillo or tomato salsa for garnish

Directions

  1. Wrap tortillas in foil; warm in a 400 degree F oven.
  2. While the tortillas heat, sauté bell pepper and onion in butter until soft, about 5 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile beat together eggs and salt.
  4. When vegetables are done, pour egg into pan; gently stir in avocado.
  5. Cook, over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until soft curds form, about 3 minutes.
  6. Put 1/4 of the egg mixture down the center of one warmed tortilla; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese.
  7. Fold in top and bottom of each tortilla.
  8. Roll up from side.
  9. Repeat with each tortilla.
  10. Garnish each burrito with a dollop of sour cream and a spoonful of salsa.

*Large avocados are recommended for this recipe. A large avocado averages about 8 ounces. If using smaller or larger size avocados adjust the quantity accordingly.

For more recipes visit: http://www.californiaavocado.com/home/

I bought a couple of avocados today, and I even smashed one and put it on top of my veggie burger. Not bad. I think I’m converted.