The Hemp Connection:
fiber

The day after the FDA warning about pistachio nuts came out, I was in a local grocery store. As I walked through the produce aisle, I noticed the produce manager and his clerk with a huge bin; they were emptying out their inventory of pistachio nuts into a huge garbage bin. They had no idea where their pistachios had come from, and they had to throw them away.

I felt sad that so much food had to be wasted.

The day that the FDA warning about pistachio nuts came out, I received a note from Whole Foods Market. They were working to source where all their pistachio nuts came from. A detailed memo was released later in the week regarding the safety of pistachios in their many stores.

Please read this blog post and make your own decisions. But do consider the value in being an informed consumer. If you are judicious about where you shop, it may be worth a little extra investment. If you make a choice to purchase locally grown products at your farmer's market, you're not only supporting a local small business, you know exactly what hands your food passed through before it fell into yours.

There will come a time when pistachios will be considered generally healthy to eat, no matter what the source. And when that comes, keep these pistachio fun facts in mind:

--a one ounce serving of pistachio nuts scores higher on the USDA's antioxidant scorecard than a cup of green tea.
--pistachio nuts can help to reduce bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol
--pistachio nuts are high in lutein and can help prevent macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness
--pistachio nuts are a good source of many vitamins and minerals, including: thiamin, vitamin B6, copper, manganese, potassium, dietary fiber, phosphorus and magnesium
--pistachio nuts are a good source of healthy fats, including omega-3's

My point is…I hope you don't eliminate pistachios completely from your diet because of what you've heard in the news. The pistachio recall was specifically for pistachios from Setton Farms. If you can shop at a store or farmer's market where you can be assured pistachios did not pass through this processing plant, they can be a wonderful addition to your PCOS eating plan.

Here's a recipe for white bean pistachio chili to get you started!

Most people, by the time they find this blog, have been introduced to the idea that carbs are"bad".

I propose a new way of thinking.

Carbs, when eaten to satisfy insatiable carbohydrate cravings, are being used to feed a potentially destructive biochemical imbalance.

Carbs, when eaten as part of a balanced diet, and when chosen from unrefined foods that also provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants, can be incredibly important in overall health and recovery from PCOS.

By now this blog has quite a bit of information on what you can do to help your carbohydrate cravings. So today I wanted to talk about a carbohydrate that can be helpful to include.

Ezekiel bread gets its name from the fact that its ingredients are all mentioned in the Bible verse Ezekiel 4:9.

"But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself; you shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days."

The bread is supposedly nutritionally complete. I'm not so sure about that, but I do know because it contains bean flour it is much higher in protein than your average bread. And, Biblical scholar or not…it can be a great food to add to your diet so that sandwiches, a handy convenience food, don't have to be eliminated from your"things I can pack for lunch" list.

I like to call our PCOS diet an"aggressive Mediterranean" diet. And because this recipe originates from the Bible, it falls in that category.

These days, Ezekiel bread is pretty easily found in most healthy food stores. The folks at Food for Life have trademarked the name"Ezekiel 4:9", and they've ventured into other products such as pasta, that you may be interested in trying.

If you cannot find Ezekiel bread in your local store, I found the recipe online for you to make it yourself.

Turkey sandwich piled with veggies…here I come!

Why would I pick such an esoteric fruit for this blog? I've got several reasons.

1. I have been asked to be part of a committee here in Phoenix that organizes Get Your PHX, monthly events promoting local businesses. Because my specialty is nutrition, I've been assigned the task of finding food for these parties. It's a great opportunity to give my fellow Phoenicians a chance to try some of the principles promoted on this blog--eat a variety of foods, organic and locally grown when possible--and to see that it actually tastes great!

The restaurant I am working with for next week's event is called The Breadfruit. It's a small but very popular joint in downtown Phoenix that obtains quite a few of its ingredients from the farmer's market around the corner. I joined The Breadfruit's Facebook fan page, and Sasha Ottey of PCOS Challenge, who is originally from Jamaica, commented that the breadfruit is a staple of Jamaica. So, for Sasha, I'm highlighting this food.

2. Women with PCOS often cut back what they are eating to just a small list of foods that they've culled from the Internet, at the expense of their dietary variety. I worked with eating disorders before specializing in PCOS, and my observation is that there is a lot more fear about food with PCOS than with eating disorders. I would guess, it has to do with wanting so badly to conceive, or lose weight, or whatever, that (unrealistic) magical powers to help or hurt PCOS start to be attached to certain food. There is no such top ten list of PCOS cure foods. In fact, the more varied your diet, the more nutrients you can get. So I wanted to pick a food that challenged all of you to think outside of that top ten list.

3. Dietary regimens for PCOS take all the fun out of food. It becomes a chore, eating the same foods over and over becomes boring, and eventually the backlash is likely to become a binge on foods that are counterproductive to PCOS. I encourage you all to have fun with food! Even if you're not coming to Get Your PHX next week, if you have an opportunity to try Jamaican food, or Korean food, or Bolivian food…don't pass it up! You might find something you like that you can add to your routine.

Back to breadfruit. What is it? It's a starchy staple of tropical nations around the world. It is typically cooked before eating, and it gets its name from its bread-like flavor. It can also be stored, fermented, and turned into a paste.

In economically disadvanted countries, breadfruit is consumed in large quantities that would not be appropriate for someone trying to balance their carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake. As a side dish, in moderation, it does provide vitamin C, choline, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, and a lot of dietary fiber--11 grams per serving! And even though it is starchy, its glycemic index is not high, likely due to its fiber content.

So if you're out having fun, and the menu includes something exotic, don't pass it up just because it's not salmon, broccoli, walnuts, or blueberries. Mother Earth has a bounty of options that are good for you, fun to try, and pleasing to your palate.

One of my inCYST graduates called to say hi the other day. She shared with me that she had discovered mangoes, and loved them. However, she was having trouble picking mangoes that were ripe and sweet. I've put the advice on that at the bottom of this post, courtesy of www.freshmangoes.com, and am devoting this post to one of my very favorite fruits.

I learned while researching this post that one averaged sized mango gives you about 40% of your daily requirement of fiber! In addition, that entire mango only has about 110 calories. For you carb counters, it logs in at 17 grams.

I like to use mangos in smoothies. I also like to make mango salsa. The one thing I don't like about mangos is that they can be so…crazy…messy! So I have gravitated toward the frozen mango chunks I found at Trader Joe's. Not only are they quick, easy, and convenient, they make a great snack to munch out of a bowl while winding down with the evening news. I've also seen dried mango, which is much more portable in a backpack than the real, fresh deal.

A few years ago, when I was in Costa Rica, I encountered green mangoes. These are the not-yet-orange-and-ripe variety that are often found canned. You might find them in your local Latin grocery store.

And that reminds me. When I was in the Mexican grocery store with my friend a few weeks ago, he marveled at how cheap the mangoes were. So don't write them off as an expensive, exotic specialty item. Make it a point to find your closest Latin-oriented grocery store, and stock up on the fruits that make eating fun.

Finally, here's a great recipe for a salmon avocado salad with mango salsa.

Who said healthy eating had to be boring or tasteless?

Selecting the ripeness of mangos can be determined by either smelling or squeezing. A ripe mango will have a full, fruity aroma emitting from the stem end. Mangos can be considered ready to eat when slightly soft to the touch and yielding to gentle pressure, like a ripe peach. The best flavored fruit have a yellow tinge when ripe; however, color may be red, yellow, green, orange or any combination. The ideal post harvest storage temperature for mangos is 55º F. When stored properly a mango should have a shelf life of 1 to 2 weeks. We have found that the best way to ripen a mango is at room temperature, on the kitchen counter and if you wish to accelerate the process place in a paper bag overnight (some folks place an apple with the mango in the bag to create more natural ethylene gas and further decrease the ripening time). Once ripened the mango can be refrigerated for a few days, but should be used shortly thereafter. www.freshmangoes.com

I know, I know. You may be asking,"What in the heck is that?!" At least that was my first thought.

I came across Piñalinaza product by chance, when in the midst of a bout of homesickness for the latin markets in my hometown of Miami, FL I decided to shop at a Food City in Chandler, AZ instead of my usual Fry's or Sprouts.

Sure there wasn't any salsa music playing, and the prepared foods and the marketing were more Mexican than Cuban, but it felt close enough to home. As I was grabbing a bag of onions and a few mangoes, I saw a little stand off to the side in the produce department. Always on the lookout for an"omega 3 boost," the packaging for the Piñalinaza caught my eye.

So what is it exactly? Simply put, it is flaxseed meal (ground flaxseed) with ground pineapple and prickly pear, as well as some other citrus fruits (orange and grapefruit). At plain sight it looks exactly like regular flaxseed meal. But it has a mild tropical scent to it. If you already use flaxseed meal, I imagine you could use it in the same way you use the regular stuff!

Flaxseed is an excellent source of fiber and omega-3 fats, and as you may have already read in this blog before, the best way to get the benefits of flaxseed is to grind the seeds instead of eating them whole.

How do I use it? Normally I might put a tablespoon or two of flaxseed meal into a smoothie/protein shake or sprinkle it into yogurt. When making a smoothie I tend to stick with a vanilla flavored based as it's the most versatile when adding other flavors to it. This didn't disappoint! I made a vanilla smoothie with unsweetened almond milk (Almond Breeze brand), vanilla flavored whey protein, 2 tablespoons of Piñalinaza and about 1 tablespoon of shredded coconut, the kind you might use in baking. A nice tropical deviation from my usual cinnamon-vanilla smoothie.

I also sprinkled it right into some plain Greek yogurt for a quick breakfast this weekend. One tablespoon and half a packet of Splenda (you can use whatever you like if you need the extra sweetness — Greek yogurt is a bit too tangy for me to eat it unsweetened!). I bet it would tasted even better if I'd had some fresh pineapple chunks to throw in there, maybe some other tropical fruits — papaya, or mango. Unsweetened dried fruit may work too. Hmmm… I may have to go back to Food City and pick up some other things!

By the way, the company (Ibitta) also makes a prickly pear version of the product called Nopalinaza, boasting 4 grams of omega-3 in one 15-gram serving.

If you run across one of these products and get to try it, come back and leave a comment. Tell us what you thought and what you did with it!

Kashi TLC Pumpkin Spice Flax bars

I tried these delicious new bars and they are really nutty, crunchy and tasty as a quick breakfast addition or a snack
these bars contain 300 mg Omega-3's from whole flax seeds
Fiber is 4 grams per serving
there are 7 types of whole grains, canola oil, pumpkin seeds and wheat germ and 2 bars equals one serving

It's barbecue season. I don't need to look at the calendar or feel the temperature to know that. I simply have to look outside and see my neighbor Brett making dinner. The other night I stopped to chat and see what he was cooking. He had some corn on the cob, the way I like it, wrapped in foil and set on the back of the coals.

Brett asked me what I knew about corn, because he had been told that it was a food with no nutritional value. I was surprised when I Googled for more information to learn that this is a commonly held belief.

Corn actually has many nutrients in reasonable quantities, including fiber, protein, thiamin, folate (yup, folate), vitamin C, and magnesium. All of these are important for your health!

Corn may get its bad reputation from its oil, which, as you've seen in previous writings here, is pro-inflammatory. However, an entire cob of corn only has 1.2 grams. The problem with corn fat is when it's extracted, concentrated, and used to cook/add fat to other foods (e.g., Fritos). A fresh cob of corn is a great type of carbohydrate to add to a summer barbecue. To change the fat makeup, try one of my grilling favorites: brush with olive oil instead of butter and sprinkle with a bit of rosemary and Parmesan cheese.

One word of advice when shopping for corn: if avoiding genetically modified foods is important to you, be sure you by your corn from a purveyor who can document that their product has not been so altered. That's what you'll find at stores like Whole Foods and farmer's markets. The more we ask for what's best, the less demand we create for these types of products and the more we encourage genetically modified foods to not be sold.

It's back…food of the week! I was busy with mandatory paperwork much of this month and it consumed blogging time. I'm excited about a summer full of fun foods to try.

I ran across this while writing another article, and since PCOS is common in Hispanics I wanted to be sure to include it.

Nopalitos are cactus pads…as shown at the top of this post, in their natural environment.

But there's a lot to getting them ready to eat! You have to skin them, which takes out the stickers. And you have to cook them. I see cactus pads in the local Hispanic market, but for those of you who are not quite so adventurous, you can find them already cooked, in which case this is how they look.

What's so great about nopalitos? Well, they're chock full of the kind of fiber that helps bring your cholesterol down. You will notice when you take them out of the jar, they have a bit of a gooey consistency, kind of like okra. Don't"boo the goo"--that's the fiber!

In addition to fiber, nopalitos have a decent choline content. Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D., a respected colleague, shared in a presentation last year that choline is not at all easy to find in the diet. And that can pose a problem since choline is the building block for acetylcholine, crucial for memory. So crucial, in fact, that many Alzheimer's medications are designed to increase acetylcholine levels.

Who would have thought that cactus could be brain food? They are also a decent source of vitamins A, C, K…and folate, that reproductively important vitamin that keeps showing up in our recommended foods on this blog.

So how the heck do you cook it? I'd recommend you Google"nopalitos recipes" for a lot of suggestions, but I'll share one here that makes it look pretty tasty, adapted from a recipe I found at Karen's Kitchen.

Nopalitos Salad

Ingredients:

1 jar precooked nopalitos
3 lemons
1 T olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
Cilantro (1 or more bunches, to taste)
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
Salt to taste

Preparation:

Empty nopalitos into a strainer. Fill a large bowl with water and juice of 2 lemons. Add about a teaspoonful of salt and then put the cactus into it, soak for about 30 minutes.

Remove the leaves from the water and chop it into 1/2" pieces.

In a skillet, heat the nopalitos with onion, garlic and salt until warm.

Remove from heat and drain. Add the rest of the ingredients, adding juice of last lemon, salt and olive oil for a dressing. Serve cold.

Buen apetito!