Vinaigrette Dressing

By: Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

There's nothing more satisfying than growing your own food. Growing all or most of your ingredients for a salad leaves you with a sense of accomplishment.
You are providing your family with the best of the best.
If growing a garden is not an option, getting fresh vegetables from your local farmer's market is great also!

After rinsing and chopping up all the freshly picked veggies for that salad, many people pour corn syrup and processed soybean oil over the greens and then sprinkle it with a teaspoon or more of sugar!

If you're purchasing a bottle of dressing from the grocery store, chances are this is what you are drizzling over your healthy salad as well (pssst.....read your labels!).

Finding a salad dressing that is delicious but not loaded with corn syrup, industrial seed oils or sugars, is tricky. Making your own delicious dressing without said ingredients takes less effort!

Ingredients
Makes 1.5 cups

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup raw honey (totally optional)
2 t Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
1 1/4 t ground chipotle powder
1 t lime juice
3/4 t black pepper
3/4 t salt
1/2 t paprika
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t dried oregano
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients except the oil in a blender.
Blend on low speed until thoroughly mixed.
Slowly drizzle olive oil into running blender.
Cover and chill for an hour.

This is especially tasty when mixed into a chicken, shrimp or fajita salad!

Summer Squash Chips

By: Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

If you have a garden or are part of a CSA, you have plenty of summer squash. You can literally use squash for every meal. Chopped, diced, julienned, mashed, roasted, sauteed, boiled, steamed or grilled - the combinations are endless, as are the many different spices you can use each time.

It takes such little effort, but the nutritional and health rewards are huge! If you haven't tried this versatile vegetable, I challenge you to try it this week.

Ingredients

• Summer squash (zucchini works well also)
• choice of spices (Mrs. Dash is our favorite)
• coconut oil/olive oil

Instructions

• Heat cast iron skillet over med. high heat and drizzled with some coconut oil.
• While pan is heating, slice squash to desired thickness.
• Place slices on hot skillet and sprinkle with spices.
• Turn over once until both sides are browned.

Orangesicles

By Coach Maria - Salus Lifestyles Nutritionist and Food Expert

Trying to keep cool and refreshed during the relentless summer heat?

One way we do this in our household is by keeping a fresh supply of homemade Popsicles in our freezer.  They are healthier than anything you can find at the grocery store, since it requires no added sugar (although a small drizzle of honey can be added if need be!) and it makes for a fun little activity when the kids are bored.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup orange juice concentrate
• 3/4 cup coconut milk (or you can use plain, Greek yogurt)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (or more if you like the flavor!)
• optional: drizzle of raw, unprocessed honey

Instructions:

1. Combine ingredients in food processor or blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour into popsicle molds (don't have molds? No problem! Fillsmall  plastic or paper cup, cover with foil, stick toothpick or popsicle stick through foil. I fill ice cube trays with this method as well for little hands in your family!).
4. Freeze for atleast 5 hours (overnight is best).
5. To release from molds, run under warm water briefly until popsicle loosens from mold.
6. Enjoy!

**You can get really creative by adding any type of berry or fruit to the food processor.  The flavor possibilites are endless!

Digestive Health

Part II
Dietary Approach to a Healthy Gut

By:  Maria

Taking a dietary approach to healing gut disorders has been known to work for many.  Although not a commonly known approach, it is certainly worth reading up on to get informed and, most importantly, to see if this approach will be the key to curing digestive disorders. 

Bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine is a relatively common condition that can be present for years before it is detected and even before there are any outward symptoms. That's because despite overuse of antibiotics, antacids, and other medications that wipe out friendly intestinal bacteria, most mainstream physicians don't test their patients for it.

Instead, people with chronic digestive problems such as gas, bloating, diarrhea, and/or constipation are often told they have IBS, when the underlying problem is actually small intestine bacterial overgrowth. Given that IBS is the number one gastrointestinal diagnosis, bacterial overgrowth seems to be vastly under diagnosed.

There are some common foods that contain short-chain carbohydrates that are not completely absorbed in the GI tract. These unabsorbed sugars, cause a problem with harmful bacterial overgrowth when they sit in the intestine and ferment. That fermentation process results in gas, bloating, pain, mucus in stools, foul-smelling gas and stools, and diarrhea – all precursors to chronic digestive disorders.  

Those short-chain carbohydrate foods – considered healthy by most standards – are plentiful and could be contributing to IBS and other digestive disorders.

· Lactose

· Fructose (from certain fruits)

· Coconut products

· Sweeteners

· Certain fibrous vegetables 

All can be difficult to digest for people with gut disorders and can cause painful and even incapacitating symptoms in those that are already dealing with IBS and Crohn’s.  

Ok, so what next?  

If you’re plagued with one or more digestive disorders, the first line of defense is figuring out if you have a high consumption of these short-chain carbohydrate foods that may be contributing to or exacerbating your symptoms. While the list of these foods appear to be not only innocuous, but nutrient dense and, therefore, leading you to believe they are perfectly healthy, it could actually be having the opposite effect on your health and, most assuredly, on your gut health. 

Significantly reducing or even eliminating those foods could be the first step (and, sometimes, the only step!) in reducing and or eliminating harmful and painful digestive symptoms.  

Take a look at this chart to review the foods you should reduce/eliminate and the foods you can consume that are gut-friendly when you have digestive disorders.

Stay tuned for Part III, where we will discuss a healthy food group that could be your enemy when dealing with digestive disorders and why.

Digestive Health

PART I

By:  Maria




Perhaps one of the most embarrassing and uncomfortable issues many people are currently dealing with are digestive disorders.  One out of five Americans suffer from one or more digestive disorders and this problem seems to be getting worse.  

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Crohn’s, Constipation, Celiac, Ulcers, Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) – all of these disorders can cause abdominal pain, excessive or inconsistent bowel movements that might be difficult to control and also lead to psychological symptoms like depression or anxiety.

If you deal with any of these issues, you know how painful and uncomfortable it can be and the impact it can have on your quality of life. 

Probably 95% of sufferers,  simply ‘put up with’ symptoms, discomfort and embarrassing situations simply because the medical community has had a lousy track record with treatment plans. 

Mainstream medicine falls short when dealing with the gas, bloating, intestinal cramps, acid reflux, and other digestive distresses.  Many brush off these issues as being psychosomatic, leaving the patient feeling even more helpless and hopeless. 

The biggest flaw in dealing with digestive disorders, is that mainstream physicians are simply (an erroneously) taking a symptom-by-symptom approach (i.e., antacids for heartburn, laxatives for constipation, pink syrup for diarrhea, etc.), rather than addressing the root cause of said symptoms.  Sadly, this is the mainstream approach to many ailments – treat the symptoms, instead of figuring out the cause.

Why? 

The bottom line is simple:  PROFITS. 

Consider the following:

Annual sales of both prescription and over-the-counter digestive products are well over $15 billion a year – and the numbers are growing. 

• Laxatives = $900 million
• Anti-hemorrhoidals = $250 million
• Anti-diarrheals = $100 million
• Antacids = $ 2 billion
• Proton-pump Inhibitors, Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid = $13.6 billion 

In the long run, these medicines end up doing more harm than good. 

Fortunately, an increasing number of people are becoming their own health detectives and decide on a non-conventional approach that seems to not only be gaining ground in the functional nutrition community when it comes to digestive health, but the results they are seeing/experiencing are phenomenal!

Stay tuned for Part II - A Dietary Approach to a Healthy Gut - to learn more!

Peach Chai

By:  Maria



Chai - literally “tea” in many languages - is an integral part of India’s rich tea culture, deep-rooted in everyday life. Tea is the most flourishing and influential division of the economy in India. Chai is consumed several times a day in India and other countries and has become a social ritual for many, making the ritual more important that the actual taste/consumption.  It is a family tradition in India to welcome your guests with cups of Chai, and every family has their own recipe and preparation method.

With peaches being so seasonally available, you should not pass up the opportunity to make this incredibly refreshing beverage to share with your family and friends.

Ingredients
Serves 2

3 cups of filtered water
2 Tbs cinnamon
2 Tbs cardamom
2 Tbs coriander
2 Tbs ginger
4 fresh peaches (pitted and juiced with 1 cup water)
2 mint leaves

Boil spices in filtered water gently for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, juice the peaches and dilute with water.
Mix cooled chai tea with peach juice. Serve chilled with a sprig of mint.

Olympic Motivation

By:  Maria



If you haven't had a chance to watch any of the events during the Olympics, take some time to do so.  You may find some motivation that has been hidden away, deep within the dark confines of your soul.  It's there....find it!

Although we view some of the athletic feats as unattainable for ourselves, we have all experienced struggles and obstacles that get in the way of our own health and fitness goals.

Some of the best motivation, however, can come out of the mouths of the strongest and fittest in the Olympic community.

Read on to find one that motivates you to move up and over those obstacles and closer to your own goals.

"If my dreams can happen to me, your dreams can happen to you. Champions are not made on the track or field; champions are made by the things you accomplish and the way you use your abilities in everyday life situations." – Bob Beamon, world record holder for long jump from 1968 to 1991.

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.” – Pierre de Coubertin, founder of modern Olympic Games

"The moment I think about past letdowns or future hypotheticals, I mentally put myself on shaky ground. If I clear my mind of chatter, I can succeed, just like I did in 2006." – Julia Mancuso, 3-time Olympic medalist in skiing.

"They may become harder to achieve, but your dreams can't stop because you've hit a certain age or you've had a child.” – Dara Torres, 12-time Olympic medalist in various swimming events.

"Failure I can live with. Not trying is what I can't handle!" – Sanya Richards-Ross, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist at 400 meters.