Artichokes- Cecilia's favorite.

In honor of my daughter Cecilia, who is turning 5 this week, I am posting about artichokes- her favorite vegetable!

I have to be honest, growing up in Puerto Rico I NEVER had artichokes.  Maybe hidden in some dip, but I don't think I had ever even seen one before I moved here, and certainly never cooked and eaten a fresh one before I met my husband (and then I fell in love...with him and artichokes!) :)

My husband has Italian background so he grew up eating artichokes and taught me how EASY they are to cook and how FUN they are to eat!

Which brings my next point... They are GREAT for kids!
We had them this week for the first time in months and Cecilia asked me "why haven't we had these in so long?" I explained that they are a Spring vegetable (trying to teach her to eat with the seasons as much as possible). She went on to tell me how much she loved them because "they are so fun!".

So I know many people see this spiky leaf strange looking vegetable and have no clue what to do with it.  Don't be intimidated!- It is super easy, delicious, and I am here to convert you!

Here is a step-by-step on how to cook & eat artichokes, followed by their AMAZING health benefits.

How to Cook an Artichoke

1. (OPTIONAL) If the artichokes have little thorns on the end of the leaves, take kitchen scissors and cut of the thorned tips of all of the leaves. This step is mostly for aesthetics as the thorns soften with cooking and pose no threat to the person eating the artichoke.

2. Slice about 3/4 inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke.

3. Cut excess stem, leaving up to an inch on the artichoke. The stems tend to be more bitter than the rest of the artichoke, but some people like to eat them.

5. Rinse the artichokes in running cold water.

6. In a large pot, put a couple inches of water, a clove of garlic, and a slice of lemon (this adds wonderful flavor to the artichokes).  Add the artichokes. Cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes or until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off. Note: artichokes can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (about 15-20 minutes cooking time). Cooking time depends on how large the artichoke is, the larger, the longer it takes to cook.


How to Eat an Artichoke

Artichokes may be eaten cold or hot, but I think they are much better hot. They are served with a dip, either melted butter with garlic or mayonaise. We usually just do a bit of melted butter, some olive oil, salt, and garlic, but I've heard of mayo with a little bit of balsamic vinegar mixed in being a yummy alternative!

1. Pull off outer petals, one at a time (the fun part!).

2. Dip white fleshy end in melted butter or sauce. Tightly grip the other end of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy, delicious portion of the petal. Discard remaining petal.

Continue until all of the petals are removed.

3. With a knife or spoon, scrape out and discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the "choke") covering the artichoke heart. The remaining bottom of the artichoke is the heart. Cut into pieces and dip into
sauce to eat!


Health Benefits

Most people’s favorite part of the artichoke is the heart, but the leaves are actually the source of a vast majority of its health benefits. In fact, artichoke leaf extract has proven to be an extremely beneficial food with a host of illness-fighting, age-extending properties.

Artichokes are packed with phytonutrients such as quercetin, rutin, gallic acid, and cynarin, all working to protect against many health risks including cancer, heart disease, liver dysfunction, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

Digestive Issues
Clinical and experimental trials have shown that eating artichokes may be useful in treating chronic digestive complaints including irritable stomach, nervous gastropathy, flatulence, and irritable bowel.

Liver/Gallbladder
They are useful in treating specific liver/gallbladder conditions with elevated blood fat values by promoting bile flow in the body, increasing fat digestion and protecting the intestinal mucosa. Bile acids stimulate intestinal peristalsis resulting in better digestion. Bile moves toxins that are ingested through food, water and the air from the liver on to the intestine for further elimination, making it a powerful "detox food".

Lowers Cholesterol
Artichokes have been proven through clinical studies to be a safe, non-toxic, natural way to prevent and treat high cholesterol. They increase the breakdown of cholesterol to bile salts, thus increasing bile production and flow, and regulate the internal production of cholesterol in the liver.
Artichokes have been shown to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and increase HDL (good cholesterol). One study showed a decrease in total cholesterol of 18.5 and LDL cholesterol by 23. This amazing plant had actually gained widespread popularity in the 1950`s and 60`s before statin drugs came along. They contain high amounts of luteolin, which is known to play a role in it cholesterol lowering abilities.

Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
Artichokes are packed with antioxidants, making them incredible defenders against cancer, aging, heart disease, and illness. They boost the immune system and lower cholesterol.

Artichokes are packed with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that increase health and wellbeing. These include:

Quercetin- An anti-carcinogen flavonoid that works as an antioxidant to protect against cancer and heart disease.

Rutin- A flavonoid which promotes cardiovascular health, helps prevent cell proliferation associated with cancer, and has anti-inflammatory and anti-allergenic properties.

Anthocyanins- Color pigments in Artichokes that are powerful antioxidants. They are associated with a lower risk of certain cancers, urinary tract health, memory function and healthy aging.

Gallic Acid- A potent antioxidant also found in red wine and black tea. It has been shown to inhibit cell proliferation in prostate cancer cells.

Luteolin and Cynarin- Very powerful polyphenol antioxidants that may lower cholesterol levels. Artichokes are very concentrated in cyanarin, which may also help in regeneration of liver tissue.

Caffeic Acid and Chlorogenic Acid- Contains anti-cancer, antimicrobial, anti-LDL (bad cholesterol) and antiviral properties.

Silymarin- A powerful antioxidant that may aid the liver in regenerative tissue growth.

One artichoke contains approximately one fourth of the average adult`s daily fiber requirements. It is also packed with vitamin C, potassium, folic acid and magnesium!!

Spring is time for ARTICHOKES!  Try it out if you haven't, and let me know what you think!

Healthy V-Day Chocolate Truffles

Valentine's Day week! Hallmark aside, it is a great time to talk chocolate and its wonderful benefits. However... not all chocolate is created equal- most commercial bars and truffles are loaded with sugar, or worse, corn syrup and soy lecithin (most likely genetically modified), and other harmful additives.

Here is a GREAT, super easy recipe to make your own V-Day Chocolate truffles with ALL good-for-you ingredients (health benefits below). This will not only satisfy your sweet tooth, improve your mood, and fill you up, but you will enjoy how easy making these are- have your kids help, they love it!

V-Day (or any day) Chocolate Truffles

• 1/2 cup pitted prunes- soaked and drained
• 1/4 cup pitted dates- soaked and drained
• 3 TBS almond butter
• 1 TBS raw honey
• 4 TBS raw cacao (nibs or powder)
• 1/2 cup finely grated unsweetened coconut

In a food processor or high powered blender, drop the prunes and dates through the feed hole one by
one. Scrape the processor bowl and run until the prunes and dates are smooth.
Add remaining ingredients except for the coconut. Run until smooth and scrape the bowl as needed.
Roll the mixture into 12 one-inch balls and roll in coconut to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

Makes 12 pieces

Now, these are some tasty healthy truffles!  Check out the amazing health benefits of the ingredients. Incredible! Have these ingredients always on hand, and truffles or not, use them in your cooking or for snacks.  They should definitely be a part of a healthy pantry, and they last long too!

Prunes:
Prunes have unique phytonutrients, classified as phenols, that
function as antioxidants and have been well documented for being effective in neutralizing a particularly dangerous oxygen radical called superoxide anion radical, and they have also been shown to help prevent oxygen-based damage to fats. Since our cell membranes, brain cells and molecules such as cholesterol are largely composed of fats, preventing free radical damage to fats is no small benefit!

Prunes' soluble fiber helps normalize blood sugar levels by slowing the rate at which food leaves the stomach and by delaying the absorption of glucose following a meal. And prunes' soluble fiber promotes a sense of satisfied fullness after a meal by slowing the rate at which food leaves the stomach, so prunes can also help prevent overeating and weight gain.

Prunes are well known for their ability to prevent constipation. In addition to providing bulk and decreasing the transit time of fecal matter (thus decreasing the risk of colon cancer and hemorrhoids) prunes' insoluble fiber also provides food for the "friendly" bacteria in the large intestine. When these helpful bacteria ferment prunes' insoluble fiber, they produce a short-chain fatty acid called butyric acid, which serves as the primary fuel for the cells of the large intestine and helps maintain a healthy colon.

In addition, prunes' soluble fibers help to lower cholesterol by binding to bile acids and removing them from the body via the feces. Bile acids are compounds used to digest fat that are manufactured by the liver from cholesterol. When they are excreted along with prunes' fiber, the liver must manufacture new bile acids and uses up more cholesterol, thus lowering the amount of cholesterol in circulation. Soluble fiber may also reduce the amount of cholesterol manufactured by the liver.

A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine confirms that eating high fiber foods, such as prunes, helps prevent heart disease. 

Dates:

Dates not only have a number of minerals, vitamins, and health-benefiting phytonutrients but they're easily digested, allowing your body to make full use of their goodness.

Dietary fiber in dates helps to move waste smoothly through your colon and helps prevent LDL (bad)

cholesterol absorption by binding with substances containing cancer-causing chemicals.
The iron content, a component of hemoglobin in red blood cells, determines the balance of oxygen in the blood.
Potassium, an electrolyte, helps control your heart rate and blood pressure. B-vitamins contained in dates, such as the carotenes lutein and zeaxanthin, absorb into the retina to maintain optimal light-filtering functions and protect against macular degeneration.

They also contain vitamins A and K. Vitamin A protects the eyes, maintains healthy skin and mucus membranes, and even protects the lungs and mouth from developing cancer. Vitamin K is a blood coagulant that also helps metabolize your bones.

Tannins, which are flavonoids as well as polyphenolic antioxidants, fight infection and inflammation and help prevent excessive bleeding (anti-hemorrhagic).

Copper, magnesium, manganese, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), niacin, pantothenic acid, and riboflavin are also present in dates and provide their own unique preventive and healing functions.
Together, these cofactors help your body metabolize carbohydrates, protein, and fats.

Eating dates in moderation can contribute to many health benefits, such as protecting against damage to cells from free radicals, helping preventing a stroke, coronary heart disease and the development of colon, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers.

Raw Honey:

If you buy your honey in the supermarket, I challenge you to find a source of raw honey, since all these marvelous health benefits only apply to raw honey. Raw means the honey has not been heated over 116F, but talking to the producer is really the only way to ensure that the product you find is truly raw, since the term “raw” is not really regulated by the government.

Health benefits of truly raw honey:

• Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Viral, Anti-Fungal (can even be used topically to treat infection)
• Treats coughs/upper respiratory infections
• Experimental evidence indicates that consumption of honey may improve blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity compared to other sweeteners.
• Antioxidants
• Improved HDL cholesterol
• Boosts immunity
• Pre-digests starches for you – if you leave your raw honey on bread for 15 minutes, the amylase enzyme begins to break down the complex sugars/starches in the bread, making it ultimately easier to digest for you.
• Some research shows that taking a Tbs of raw honey made within 100 miles of your home fights off seasonal allergies. The reason is something about the bees processing the same pollen that is making you sneeze, and you consuming the processed pollen, inoculating your system against the allergens.

Raw Cacao:

Last but NOT least... Raw cacao beans are rich in antioxidants, which lower free radicals. The beans provide some iron and calcium, but are particularly rich in magnesium.

Chocolate for Heart Health- Scientific studies of the effects of dark chocolate indicate that it stimulates the release of endorphins in the human body. As a result, dark chocolate may have an anti-depressant effect. A study in the 2012 issue of the “International Journal of Hypertension” reports that the antioxidants in dark chocolate help to reduce high blood pressure and improve circulation. Advocates of raw cacao beans claim the beans provide these health benefits to a greater degree because the raw beans have a higher level of antioxidants than processed chocolate.

Magnesium- Cacao beans are one of the best dietary sources of magnesium — a mineral needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in our bodies- and that about 70% of Americans are deficient of.  It's important for muscle and nerve function and keeps the heart rhythm steady.

Fibre- You don't get any dietary fibre when you eat a chocolate bar, but you do get some when you snack on cacao nibs: one ounce has nine grams!

Iron- Necessary for red blood cell production, is found in cacao nibs. An ounce of the raw nibs has six per cent of your recommended daily iron intake.

Antioxidants- Surely you've heard about the antioxidant power of dark chocolate — well, that goes even more for cacao beans, especially when eaten raw. Antioxidants are important for health because they absorb the free radicals that cause damage in the body.

Mood Improver- Neurotransmitters are the messengers in our brains that tell our bodies how to act, and that includes mood. Cacao's ability to act on those neurotransmitters is why it's known for its mood-enhancing skills. Chocolate and cacao stimulates the brain to release particular neurotransmitters that can trigger emotions — including good ones like euphoria!

Phenylethylamine (PEA)- This is a chemical found in cacao, one that our bodies also make naturally. We produce PEA, an adrenal-related chemical, when we're excited — it causes the pulse to quicken, making us feel focused and alert.

Anandamide- Anandamide, a lipid found in cacao, is another compound tied to cacao's feel-good properties. This lipid has been called "the bliss molecule", because its natural molecular shape represents that of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

So go ahead, buy these healthy pantry staples, make some delicious truffles, and have a lovely Valentine's day! XOXO