Friday Feature: Vegetarian Iodine Sources

One of my friends just completed a raw food fast and another woman told me she is going to begin a raw food program next week. Experiencing myself the great results of more energy, losing weight, and being more clearheaded and spiritually attuned, I rejoiced for both of them. They both tapped into my knowledge and I was more than happy to help them begin and stay the course. So often people lung head-on into becoming a vegetarian or a vegan but are lacking essential knowledge that could be damaging to their bodies. Last week I told you a major problem for vegetarians is a lack of protein in their diet and gave you some non-soy vegetarian protein sources that I eat. A lack of protein isn’t the only issue that vegetarians tend to have. Additionally, we lack iodine (mostly obtained from meat and their products) and vegans lack calcium so many have weak bones. In an upcoming week, I’ll discuss vegetarian food options for calcium, but today I give you a list of vegetables high in iodine (I give descriptions for those that are not so common):

Kelp—a sea vegetable that tuna eat and gives tuna its distinct flavor
Dulse—a sea vegetable that is a red algae
Agar—a gel derived from red algae
Swiss chard—a leafy green vegetable
Summer Squash
Mustard Greens
Kale
Asparagus
Turnips
Spinach

God has given us everything we need for life and godliness, including to those on a largely plant-based diet (2 Peter 1:3). Check out some of these and get the iodine you need without having to add iodine enriched table salt to your food.

Friday Feature: Vegetarian Protein Sources

It seems at least once at month someone I talk to about my vegetarian (mostly vegan) diet asks me “How do you get enough protein?” After giving up soy, a great source of protein, I asked myself the same question. From my research I can confidently say “I get more than enough” with the following foods:

1. Nutritional yeast
2. Hemp seeds
3. Kale
4. Almonds
5. Walnuts (if I take Activated Charcoal to eliminate my allergic reaction that I just recently found out I get when eating these nuts)
6. Brazil nuts
7. Macadamia nuts
8. Sunflower seeds
9. Pumpkin seeds
10. Beans
11. Peas (I also just recently realized that I am probably allergic to peas so I take Activated Charcoal after eating peas, too.)

If you are considering cutting back on or eliminating meat (including fish) from your diet, then don’t let the fear not getting enough protein stop you. You can use the above foods in a variety of ways, including the less traditional ways in dishes like lasagna, stir frys, and protein drinks and the more traditional ways like for snacks and in salads. Check out my Friday Feature blog post “Staples in My ‘Raw Food Kitchen’” and search online for ways to incorporate these and other protein-rich vegetarian friendly foods into your menu plan.

Friday Feature: Roundup Fifteen

This fourth Friday brings the following links that complement my Friday Feature posts this month:

The Art of Juicing

The Incredible Powers of Celery Juice by Sheryl Walters

The Four Superfoods That I Consume on a Regular Basis by Maxwell Goldberg

10 Organic Foods You’ll Always Find in My Kitchen by Maxwell Goldberg

Friday Feature: Staples in my ‘Raw Food Kitchen’

Eating healthy can be a hassle if you don’t know where to shop, what to buy or what to make with what you buy. Beginning today and in the coming weeks I will share some of my raw food staples, meal plans and recipes that you might want to incorporate into you food plan. Today I simply share with you what you are likely to always find in my kitchen. If I have these, I can make a variety of meals for about two weeks. What’s also good about most of these foods is that my entire family eats them.

Fruits and Vegetables

1. Apples—For juices, smoothies, desserts and to be eaten alone
2. Oranges—For juices, smoothies and to be eaten alone
3. Bananas—For smoothies, desserts and to be eaten alone
4. Strawberries—For juices, smoothies, desserts and to be eaten alone
5. Lemon—For juices and ingredients in dressings and main dishes
6. Celery—For juices, smoothies and ingredient in main dishes
7. Kale—For juices, smoothies and ingredient in main dishes
8. Cucumbers—For juices, smoothies, toppings and ingredients in main dishes
9. Tomatoes—For juices, toppings and ingredients in main meals
10. Lettuce (usually Romaine)—For juices, smoothies, salads, wraps and ingredient in other main dishes
11. Carrots—For juices, smoothies and ingredients in main dishes
12. Red bell peppers—For ingredients in main dishes
13. Green bell peppers—For juices, smoothies and ingredients in main dishes
14. Onions—For toppings and ingredients in main dishes

Nuts, Seeds and Such

1. Dates—To sweeten protein drinks and desserts and for toppings
2. Brazil Nuts—For milk, protein drinks, dressings and toppings
3. Almonds—For milk, protein drinks and to be eaten alone
4. Cashews—For cheeses, main dishes and to be eaten alone
5. Hemp Seeds—For toppings and to be used in main dishes (I have yet to try in protein drinks, which I hear people do)
6. Sunflower Seeds—For toppings, main dishes and to be eaten alone
7. Garbanzo Beans (Chick Peas)—For toppings and to be used in main dishes
8. Olives—For toppings and to be eaten alone

Condiments and Seasonings

1. Honey—To sweeten drinks and desserts
2. Nutritional Yeast—To add to vegetables, salads and drinks
3. Sea Salt—An ingredient in main dishes
4. Pepper—An ingredient in main dishes
5. Oregano—An ingredient in main dishes
6. Paprika—An ingredient in main dishes
7. Cumin—An ingredient in main dishes
8. Coriander—An ingredient in main dishes
9. Garlic Powder— An ingredient in main dishes
10. Onion Powder— An ingredient in main dishes
11. Olive Oil— An ingredient in drinks, dressings and main dishes
12. Apple Cider Vinegar—An ingredient in drinks, dressings and main dishes
13. Tahini—An ingredient in dressings and main dishes

What are some healthy foods you would like to know more about? What are some healthy foods that you cannot do without?

Friday Feature: The Wonders of Celery


My Grandma Thomas could make the best baked chicken with just salt and pepper, but her secret was adding the right amount of vegetable oil, onions and celery. When I first tried to duplicate her taste, I didn’t have celery. The chicken was good but wasn’t Grandma Thomas great. Next time I made sure to have celery. It gave the chicken that flavor boost it needed where I can now say my chicken tastes like my grandma’s. Even though celery gives my baked chicken that extra flavor I wouldn’t use celery for anything else. It would rot in my refrigerator, not knowing what else to do with it besides cutting the stalks into sticks to eat with blue cheese dressing. And that’s what you do at dinner parties or anywhere else where they serve a vegetable tray; I had no interest in buying molded cheese just to make my celery palatable so I could consume it before it went bad. But since being on a mostly raw plant-based food plan, celery has become a staple in my fridge.

Celery goes in all my green juices and smoothies (one of which I try to consume daily) and my raw burgers. In my opinion, celery tastes awful by itself but teamed with other foods, celery is a great enhancer. Who knows, but maybe because celery is so greatly enhanced with vital nutrient that it can greatly enhance other foods? Celery

Is high in:
Potassium
Magnesium
Manganese
Sodium (natural sodium that’s essential for our bodies)
Phosphorus
Iron
Calcium
Vitamins A, B-complex and C
Amino acids

Is a:
Diuretic
Laxative
Natural diet aid (curbs appetite)

Reduces:
Blood pressure

Helps:
Restore normal blood sugar levels
Prevent stomach and colon cancers
Treat respiratory issues, like asthma and bronchitis
Ease the pain from gout, rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatism
Stimulates sexual drive
Calm the nervous system

I hope you will try celery beyond the tiny pieces you put in soups and other food mixtures. Let it not only enhance the taste of your food but the level of your health and, thus, the level of your life.