Category Archives: Friday Feature

Friday Feature: Did You Know?

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Making a great effort to eat more nutritiously over the years has brought me a wealth of knowledge, but I am learning still, daily, and am amazed at what I have learned in the last two weeks. Some of the knowledge came from reading, some from friends and some even from my own mind as I had some personal ‘aha’ moments. I share with you below my recent discoveries:

I didn’t know that. . .

• Nuts are large seeds.
• There is little taste difference in Brazil nuts, cashews, hazel nuts and macadamia nuts when blending them as certain protein drinks.
• The slow process of dehydrating food makes the environment ripe for mold growth on the food.
• A company has created a way to genetically modify an apple so it doesn’t turn brown (Scary!).
• Seedless watermelons have been genetically modified (Watermelons are meant to have seeds).
• An organic seedless watermelon is a contradiction. (The fact that the watermelon doesn’t have seeds makes it non-organic from the start; growing a non-organic fruit in an organic environment doesn’t make much sense to me).
• My return to an omnivore lifestyle still has me craving to be an herbivore.
• A large number of Extra Virgin olive oils are not Extra Virgin but have been cut with other oils.

What have you discovered lately about foods, and how will your discoveries help you to improve your health? If you haven’t learned anything new lately, why don’t you seek to find out something new? You could even start with searching out more about the items I listed above. Make sure to share your discoveries in the comments section here. Remember, we are destroyed from a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Don’t let destruction happen at your hands.

Friday Feature: Seed Sense

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We are a snacking society. This is obvious with the widespread availability of these seductively tasty treats. But with most of these snacks loaded with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, and hydrogenated oils, we are contributing to our death every bite we take. And some of us aren’t even hungry; we are just in the habit of putting something in our mouths or simply eating out of boredom.

To help steer your snacking in a more healthy direction, you can add seeds to your munching menu. Most seeds are high in Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids (EFAs). These EFAs “balance and regulate energy production, blood circulation, nerve function, inflammation, hormone regulation, recovery from exercise, immune function, cell growth, . . . and can elevate mood,” and “improve brain function and development.” The benefits of eating seeds are a great contrast to any typical processed snack food you could eat.

As a snack, you can eat seeds by the handful and you can eat them in more substantive ways by adding them in smoothies and protein drinks, putting them on salads and in salad dressings, and mixing them into garden burgers and other raw recipes.

I offer you a list of edible seeds to reach for next time you want to snack:

Chia seeds – These are good in Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids and are high in calcium, copper, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc. They are a great source of protein and fiber, and have anti-inflammatory and laxative properties.

Flax seeds (AKA linseed) – Like chia seeds, flax seeds are high in Omega 3 and Omega 6 EFAs and have anti-inflammatory and laxative properties. They are rich in several B-vitamins, copper, iron, lecithin, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, and all 8 essential amino acids. They are a good source of fiber and protein and contain lignan, a phytoestrogen that has been shown to prevent cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis. These seeds should be ground before using.

Hemp seeds -These nut-like flavored seeds are high in Omega 3 and Omega 6 EFAs and are a great source of fiber and protein, containing all the essential amino acids. These are great in raw and cooked foods.

Pumpkin seeds – Great in and out of the shell, these seeds are rich in B-vitamins, copper, iron, lignan, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, Omega 6, and vitamin E. They are a great source of protein and fiber.

Sesame seeds – Another good choice to add to raw and cooked foods, they are rich in B-vitamins, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, zinc, Omega 6, linoleic acid, protein and fiber.

Sunflower seeds – These seeds have the same properties as pumpkin seeds , but they are also rich in calcium and linoleic acid. These, too, are rich in protein and fiber.

If but just in a minimal way, I hope you at least add seeds to your snack menu. You now know the great benefits of seeds being a part of your diet. Won’t you add them to add health in a significant way to your life?

Friday Feature: Six Ways to Stay Cool with Fruit

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The heat wave that has swept the nation has most of us thinking about how to remain cool. This is on my mind today as the high temperature in Detroit is expected to reach 100 degrees. With the exception of taking my mom to therapy in the morning twice this week, I have remained in my cool, air-conditioned house. And I thank God for my cool house because powerful storms this week knocked out power for many surrounding neighborhoods and they are feeling the heat. But if you have been blessed to still have power you might want to try my six ways to stay cool with fruit:

Cold Fruit—The most basic way to keep cool is simply to eat cold fruit. My family has been enjoying watermelon and pineapple mixed as a salad. I have added to my mix blueberries and cantaloupe and sometimes strawberries. I love how these taste together. At the end of my bowl I have wonderful fruit juice.

Natural fruit juice—You don’t have to wait until you get to the end of your bowl to drink fruit juice. In fact, to have cold fruit juice you can put the cold fruit in your juicer or blender and have a tall glass of freshness without refined sugar and other unnecessary additives. Use fruits with a lot of water to create a juice. Use these along with the softer ones, like banana, mango and papaya, for smoothies.

Smoothies—I make these almost daily for my boys and me. Their favorite is Mango-Strawberry-Banana with honey. I put these and about five ice cubes in the blender for a luscious treat anytime of the day. I even use frozen strawberries that I buy or freeze myself to add to the drink’s refreshing coolness.


Frozen fruit—Frozen fruit is not just for my smoothies; I like to eat them. My favorite is blueberries that tend to melt in my mouth. If I let my frozen strawberries sit at room temperature for a couple of minutes I eat those, too. Otherwise they are too dense to bite. My friend Carla loves frozen grapes. Frozen raspberries are a nice treat, too.

Frozen fruit ice cream—One treat that I love that sends chills throughout my body is ice cream. I just can’t eat it whenever I want because I don’t like the taste of, and even if I did I refuse to buy, cheap ice cream. Cheap ice cream has high fructose corn syrup and a bunch of other ingredients that I can’t pronounce and have no idea why they are in ice cream. When I buy ice cream I am eating Haagen-Dazs or some equivalent that only has cream, milk, sugar, eggs and a truly natural flavor. But with that ice cream being high in fat and cholesterol, I opt for frozen fruit. I like to freeze a banana, a ½ cup of chopped up mango and ½ cup of pineapple and then blend them with a little orange juice to give them that ice cream consistency. I get a sweet treat without the cholesterol and fat we all need to avoid.

Fruit juice popsicles—I wonder what natural fruit juice would taste like as popsicles. My boys and I pour bottled juice in ice trays to make popsicles so I think I’ll try juicing some fruit and freezing it to make popsicles. I can’t imagine that these won’t be good.

I hope you try or continue to use these methods to stay cool this summer or for a healthy treat anytime during the year. These have refreshed me and I hope they refresh you. Tell me; in what ways do you keep or plan to keep cool with fruit?

Friday Feature: Roundup Sixteen

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Links for you to further explore this month’s Friday Feature posts on natural sources of iodine, protein and calcium:

Dulse is a Clinically Proven Antioxidant, Protein Source, and Plant-based Source of Iodine and Potassium at Natural News.com

Top Seven Vegan Sources of Protein at Natural News.com

21 Sources of Protein for Vegetarians at Care2Make a Difference

Understand the Calcium Myth: Here’s What Really Makes Healthy Bones at Natural News.com

Friday Feature: Vegetarian Calcium Sources

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When we eliminate something out of our lives, be it a habit, a person or a friend, we sometimes substitute what’s missing with something unhealthy. We may pick up another bad habit, a toxic friend or a harmful food. This happens with the vegetarian and the vegan when they are trying to ensure getting enough protein and calcium. To get protein and calcium, vegetarians tend to eat too many eggs for protein and too much cheese for calcium, both causing high cholesterol. And vegans, who don’t consume any meat products or byproducts, tend to lack protein and calcium and have problems with weak bones and teeth. Over the last two weeks, I shared posts giving you vegetarian sources of iodine and protein. Today I give you vegetarian sources for calcium, which mostly come from leafy green vegetables. Some of the best foods include the following:

• Collard greens
• Cabbage
• Turnip greens
• Beet greens
• Kale
• Spinach
• Broccoli (Flowers, stems and leaves; they actually come with a lot of greens if you pick them at a broccoli patch.)
• Snow peas
• Beans

Consuming calcium does your body no good if the calcium can’t get to your bones. Make sure to get other essential nutrients, such as magnesium, to help with this process.