Otis Adzuki Bean Soup

What are the leading causes of cancer?  Smoking, diet, lack of exercise and then of course obesity which comes from diet and lack of exercise.  I watched a very informative video on youtube this morning that talks about cancer and the American Health Care System  Please spend and hour and watch this video, it's worth it! http://youtu.be/3ho_LMBiHVg   The Doctor who gives this lecture and rips on the health care system is Otis Brawley, M.D., chief medical and scientific officer, American Cancer Society, and the keynote speaker at Health Journalism 2012.

What caught my attention was of course that he spoke about diet in the beginning of his speech and then again mentioned it several times later.  He is very critical of the health care system and points out numerous times that Americans are 50th in life expectancy.  He also mentions, "We are Americans and we leave a lot of people behind in the American Health Care System".  So many Americans I know always say that "America has the highest standard of living in the world".  If America did have the highest standard of living in the world shouldn't our life expectancy be higher than 50th?  This gentleman goes on to explain various problems with the system that is in place now.  He gives specific cases of procedures that have been implemented into the system and that have become accepted by the public but which have more negative effects than positive results.

In the end, you will be dumbfounded and flabbergasted by what this brave man points out and that he has the guts to come forward and deliver his message to a room full of health care journalists that undoubtedly will publish what this new hero of mine has so eloquently presented.  But for me, because I blog about diet and cancer, I found it so important that he mentioned diet in the beginning of his speech.

So I present to you today a soup named after my new hero  "The Otis Adzuki Bean Soup"
Oh, by the way, he has just published a book called, "How We Do Harm".

The Otis Adzuki Bean Soup

• 2 cups adzuki beans
• 1 liter water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions diced
• 4 carrots sliced
• 1 celery stick diced
• 1 leek sliced
• 1/2 red pepper diced
• 2 garlic minced
• 1 shallot minced
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp caraway
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp hot paprika
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 large can whole tomatoes
• 2 liters water/vegi stock
• 1 bay leaf
• some fresh thyme
• salt and pepper

• Soak the bean in the water overnight
• Place a large pot over medium heat for 2 minutes
• Then add the olive and heat for another 2 minutes
• Then add the onions, carrots and celery and cook for 10 minutes
• Then add the leeks, red pepper, garlic and shallots and cook for 5 minutes
• Then add cumin, caraway, turmeric and paprika and cook 5 minutes more
• Then add tomato paste and cook 2-3 minutes stirring mucho
• Then add the rest of the ingredients including the soaked beans
• Cook for 1-2 hours depending on beans
• Don't add the salt and pepper until the beans are soft.

Enjoy this tasty soup with a little rice and it taste nice.
 Adzuki Beans are the healthiest beans in the world.  When combined with brown rice they produce a high quality protein along with plenty of vitamins and minerals.

Beetroot Soup with Apples and Ginger

     When I am not blogging I am a private chef.  And when I am private chefing I work really, really hard,  sometimes up to 16 hours a day.  But that's okay because I love it.  I love being able to go to the market buy what looks the freshest and drive back up into the mountains and cook in a huge, fabulous kitchen.  The family I cook for are wonderful and really appreciate my food which makes me feel good.  I cook for a family of four.  The parents are great but I really love their two fantastic daughters.  They help me out in the kitchen a lot.  We play a game called Chef Jeff's Cooking Show and they are my guests on the show.  They use their imagination and pretend they are someone else which is really fun for them and me too.

However, when the family is here in Mallorca visiting I am super busy being their private chef and manny.  I really enjoy this work but I have very little time for anything else.  So writing in my blog just really doesn't happen when La Familia is here.  I did write down some of the recipes that I prepared for them on this visit though.  They are healthy vegan recipes that I am sure you will enjoy.

     The first soup I prepared for them is this great pureed Beetroot Soup with Apple and Ginger.  Beetroot is a rich source of antioxidants and nutrients.  Beetroot has betaine which may help fight liver disease.  Beetroot has been shown to lower blood pressure. All and all beetroot is just darn good for ya!

Beetroot Soup with Apples and Ginger

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onion chopped
• 3 carrots chopped
• 1 leek chopped
• 1 shallot minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger minced
• 1/8 celery root chopped
• 1 red apple cored and chopped
• 5 medium beets peeled and chopped
• 2 liters water/vegi stock
• 6 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper

• Place a medium size pot on the stove over medium heat.
• Add the olive oil and heat for 2 minutes.
• Then add the onions and carrots and saute for 10 minutes.
• Next add the leek, shallot, celery root and apple and cook 5 minutes more.
• Add the rest of the ingredients.
• Bring to a simmer and cook for about 1 hour until everything is soft.
• Take out the cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
• Pour ingredients into the blender in 2-3 batches and blend thoroughly.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve hot or cold

Spring Asparagus with Avocado and Oranges

A friend contacted me the other day and asked what she could do to clean her body of some medicines she had been taking.  I told her she needed to clean her liver using several different cleanses.  She was upset at the doctors and the system.  I didn't ask her but I am sure know one spoke to her about nutrition.  And even if someone spoke to her about nutrition she probably would of been told that she should not eat carbs but eat plenty of proteins and drink milk because it does a body good.  Unfortunately, a lot of nutritional programs are sponsored by the large food manufactures and they do not want nutritionists to inform the public on specific dietary practices that might affect their sales.  But most people have know idea that these things go on because these huge corporations pay huge amounts of money to public relation firms and lobbyists to protect their interest.
However, if you just eat a mostly organic plant based diet you will beat the system and be healthy without having to take those medicines that have dangerous side effects.  And one of the healthiest ways to eat is with the seasons and right now asparagus and oranges are in season so eat as much as you can while they are here.

,

Get ready

Get set

Go!

Enjoy to your hearts content!

Spring Asparagus with Oranges and Avocados

by Jeff Harter

Prep Time: 1/2 hour

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Keywords: appetizer salad low-carb low-sodium soy-free sugar-free vegan vegetarian asparagus spring

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Asparagus and oranges are a natural together. For this recipe we got the asparagus and oranges from a friends garden. I always say, "What grows together goes together".

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 24 asparagus
• water
• salt
• 2 oranges
• 2 avocados

Dressing

• Juice of 1 lemon
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 tbsp of mustard
• 1 tbsp curry
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 tbsp salt.
• Break off bottom of asparagus where is snaps naturally.
• Throw in the asparagus and boil for 3 minutes.
• Strain then run cold water over asparagus or place in ice bath for a few minutes.
• Place asparagus on paper towel and dry.
• Place in fridge for 1/2 hour.
• Next cut out the segments of the oranges until you have 20 segments.
• Then cut avocados in half then peel carefully.
• Place the avocado face down on a cutting board.
• And slice as thin as possible cross ways.

Dressing

• In a glass jar add all the ingredients and shake hard for 1 minute.

Plating

• Place the avocado on the plate and fan out.
• Place the asparagus on top of the avocado.
• Place the orange next to the asparagus.
• Pour the dressing around the plate.
• If you have nastursium flower put on the plate as well.
• Enjoy!

Cucumber Cups with Tabbouleh

Why doesn't the medical system take nutrition seriously?  Could it  be control, money, power and maybe even ego?  Again, as I have stated before, if the population starts eating healthy, plant based foods, then the food companies, the pharmaceutical companies, the hospitals, the doctors, the universities would all lose billions and billions of dollars and these companies with their very strong lobbyist groups are not going to let this happen.  They will make sure your children, in their schools are forced to eat what they feel is right.  And when you see that the USDA, FDA and the US Dept. of Agriculture have approved, then of course, it must be healthy.  Wrong!  Those and other government agencies are lobbied by these groups and giving millions of dollars to make this happen.  And then the USDA and FDA as well as other governmental agencies hire respected scientist, chemists, engineers and doctors who will tell the world what they are told to tell the world.  No questions asked.  So we believe this.  One, because we believe in our government and who are we to question some of the best and most respected experts in the world.  The milk lobbyist group alone has a budget of $128,000,000 per year?  Are you kidding me.  If milk is really that good for you why on earth would you need that much dinero to make sure it sells?  The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture administers the school lunch program to 28 million children, largely relying on an inventory of government-subsidized foods.  The government program, as it now stands, uses mostly animal-based products and even requires that participating schools make available cow's milk.  This usually means that the consumption of milk is mandatory.
A friend of ours told us a story the other day.  She and her family are fishetarians.  They only eat fish on rare occasions.  So the lunches that she packs for her two children are almost always vegetarian.  And they don't drink milk.  But a new law has been passed where teachers have the right to look inside any students lunch box and if it does not have the proper food items as required by law, such as Milk and some form of animal protein, then the child is forced to line up and grab a school lunch.  This is the power they have over the individual in our society.  And those cute little milk cartons for the children have several tablespoons of sugar in them just to make sure your children will love milk.
And what about the soft drink companies being allowed to have their machines in school cafeterias and become large sponsors in high school sports.  This should not be allowed.
The system that exists now is a waste of taxpayers money and is very damaging to our health.  The problem is because the government has been combined with academia and industry.  Industry provides funding for the public health reports and then the academic stars with strong industry ties help develop the reports.  And then of course a revolving doors exists between government jobs and industry jobs.  The system is so tarnished with power and greed that I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to health, the government is not for the people.  But I am for the people and that is why I am sharing with you this superduper healthy appetizer.  Enjoy and eat as many as you like because you know it is healthy for you and your family!

Dig'em out and fill'em

Make plenty

You need a mellon baller

Mixes well with others

Cucumber Cups with Tabbouleh

by Jeff Harter

Prep Time: 1 hour

Keywords: appetizer low-carb nut-free soy-free sugar-free vegan vegetarian bulgar Mediterranean

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These little cucumber cups are a party favorite. Easy, fun and tasty not to mention very healthy for you as well.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Tabbouleh

Bulgar

• 1 quart water
• 1 cup bulgar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cloves
• 1tsp salt

Salad

• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped mint
• 1 large tomate halved, seeded and chopped
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 2 lemon
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cucumber

• 3 long and skinny cucumbers

Instructions

Tabbouleh

Bulgar

• First cook the Bulgar.
• Bring the water to a boil then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer over medium heat for seven minutes. Take off heat and let sit 5 minutes then strain in a fine mesh strainer.
• Take out the bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cloves.

Salad

• In a large bowl add all the ingredients with the drained bulgar and mix well.

Cucumber

• Peel the cucumber the cut in to about 2 inch sections.
• Next using a melon baller take out the center of the cucumber.
• When that is complete fill the center of the cucumber with Tabbouleh.
• Place in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour to chill.
• Place 3 or 4 on a plate with a little green salad in the middle of the plate if desired.

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