Healthy by Nature radio show this week

If a Healthy by Nature listener learns a tidbit of information that helps turn their health around, I like to think the show might just save a life now and then. This week we could collectively help save life as we know it. I did not realize how profoundly what we eat affects global warming. I understood that it is tempting to believe scare tactics that blame ranching as a major cause of greenhouse gases. But, what if going back to more traditional farming methods could save the soil and thereby have as much impact on reducing atmospheric CO₂ levels as shutting down power plants and junking all the SUV’s? Even more unimaginable…what if properly raising animals for food could be an important part of the solution. And what if the “experts” are wrong and traditional farming methods can feed as many people as short-sighted money-driven factory farming? I’m fascinated with Judith Schwartz’s book, Cows Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth.

We will also start our annual holiday search for gifts that make the recipient healthier. Eva Navratil of Serenity 2000 has some ideas. At the end I have one of my own.

Let’s talk turkey and the trimmings

…specifically an easy turkey recipe and gluten free sides

Because of tradition and family pressures, I imagine any suggestion to turn the Thanksgiving feast into a health food buffet would fall onto deaf ears. So, instead let’s talk about delicious and easy.

TURKEY

• My recipe for a fall-off-the-bone moist and easy peasy roasted turkey is in our website Library. Link here to the article / recipe. It also has tips on thawing the bird. Note that it is in the oven for 1 hour per pound so advanced planning is crucial.

• Last year I tried a different method. It was more complicated, but baked in a couple of hours. It was scrumptious. Alton Brown (Good Eats) recipe. It calls for Canola oil, but most of that is GMO. So, for that and many other reasons I use MacNut Oil instead. It is the healthiest and most delicious. If you don’t have that and are sure none of your guests are allergic to peanuts, peanut oil is good for high heat and gives a nutty flavor. (The other thing I changed was to add celery stalks and orange sections to the bird filling.)

• If you want to FRY your turkey, please do it outside and be very, very careful. TIPS.

• Leftovers. These gluten free ideas courtesy of Natural Grocers are in our library.

SIDE DISHES

In my holiday file I found a recipe that sounds yummy and reasonably healthful. It was obviously torn out of some booklet, but unfortunately I can’t give proper credit.

• BAKED YAMS with ROASTED PECANS

3 large Jewel or Garnet yams, washed and cut into large chunks

¼ cup water

¼ cup maple syrup (the real thing please, not maple flavored corn syrup)

¼ cup tamari (gluten free soy sauce)

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

½ cup roasted pecans, chopped

Place yams in a baking dish. Whisk together water, maple syrup, tamari, and sesame oil and pour over yams. Sprinkle pecans on top. Cover and bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes. Uncover and bake and additional 5 minutes. Serves 4-6.

(I have problem in that I cannot resist monkeying with recipes. I’m thinking that I would put little bits of butter on top of the yams and to keep them crispy, not sprinkle the roasted pecans around until that last 5 minutes.)

• These gluten free ideas for stuffing, sides and desserts (courtesy of Natural Grocers) are in our library. Note that there is one for cranberry sauce, but if you want to go the traditional route with the recipe on the bag of cranberries, I think it tastes just as good and is less evil with less sugar than it calls for.

Happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for you and for sharing our message with your friends and family.

Last Week Follow-up

LISTEN to that show in the archives.

We opened the show with returning guest Hamilton Cabanilla, an educator with Enzymedica. He answered many questions about digestion like these: What makes certain foods more difficult to digest than others? How to keep big meals from making us tired? We also cleared up when and how to take enzymes. Dr. Frank King returned to continue our discussion about the homeopathic approach to common problems. He gave the best explanation of homeopathy that we have heard. I ask about shingles, skin tags and gout. Dr. King is a naturopath, chiropractor and author of The Healing Revolution: Eight Essentials to Awaken Abundant Life, Naturally as well as the founder of KingBio. Note, KingBio is not a sponsor of the show (but I wish they were).