Green Options » Berries

Alkaline Eating for Better Body Chemistry, PH Levels, and Overall Health

Lucille Chi — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:43:11 +0000

Going to a body and nutrition expert with my husband is one of the best things we’ve done for ourselves. What was the key take away? Warning! Turn Alkaline!

Turn Alkaline? Are we magicians? Well according to biochemists we are! You can change your body chemistry with what you eat!

Chemicals have seeped into foods, air, and water, which in turn lower our system’s ability to control the chemistry of our body fluids, increasing illness and chronic disease.

The sad fact is that most food consumption in the wealthiest nations has shifted from nutritious raw foods to low nutritional value processed foods and we need to shift it back. Now that our total biological terrain is at risk, we urgently need to do some clean up by shifting our body chemistry back to the raw, organic foods it was designed to function on as we’ve evolved.

Below I’ve listed out a quick list of the good foods (alkaline) to treat your body to often…

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Half Raw Eating: A Moderate Path to a Healthier Family

Jamie Ervin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:20:31 +0000

I’m a firm believer in moderation. It is through moderation that we are able to make big changes in the lives of our families, society as a whole and improve the well being of our planet. Our family strives to eat at least 50% Raw, over time we will slowly increase the amount of Raw foods and reduce the amount of meat. Reducing meat is easy for me (a former vegetarian) and nearly impossible for my omnivore husband. Baby steps are vital if I hope to create change in this house.

Here’s a simple recipe for Raw Nut Butter & Raw Jam to enjoy on a warm slice of whole wheat or whole grain gluten free bread.

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5 Food Tips From Poland

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:38:00 +0000

I’ve been living in Poland for ten months now. When I first got here, a few food ideas stood out to me that I thought were cool. After ten months, I have picked up a couple more as well. Hope you enjoy the food tips Poland has to share.

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Oatmeal for Breakfast: Add Berries and Flax, Honey and Love to your Morning Bowl

Lucille Chi — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:30:58 +0000

What do you like in your oatmeal? Today I like thin sliced almonds and dried cherries, blueberries, cranberries, golden raisins and a twirl of honey (shown below). This tastes delicious with my black-cherry tea.

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Having Betty Over for Dessert

Stuart Stein — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:00:04 +0000

It’s that time of year. My mouth is watering and a body is craving antioxidants. And there’s no better time than right now to grab, buy or even pick your own summer jewels. I’m of course talking about berries - a myriad of types and varieties can be found in virtually every area of the U.S.

So once you have your hoard, what now? My culinary intuition and memories turn to bettys, buckles, crisps, crumbles, cobblers and grunts. The questions for most home cooks is, “What does it all mean?” and “What’s the difference anyway?”

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Need Cooling? Berry Smoothie Recipes Hit The Spot

Kelli Best-Oliver — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:10:02 +0000

Last week I wrote about no/low-cal ways to dress up your water, providing you with variety when you need hydration the most. But what about when the summer heat is so hot, you don’t even feel like a meal? My husband and I play tennis every morning, and a berry smoothie is perfect before or after a match, or if you need nourishment and energy, but don’t want to eat something heavy. Even Starbucks is getting into the smoothie game, but why drink their inevitably processed concoctions when you can make your own from fresh, unprocessed ingredients? Blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries are all over the farmer’s markets, or, if they’re available, gooseberries, lingonberries, loganberries, or bilberries make unique additions to a smoothie. Berries are also full of vitamins and antioxidants; you can’t beat them for a sweet treat that’s good for you as well. Megan included them in her top ten quick, healthy, sustainable snacks, and the Green Diva mentioned them in her five ways to enjoy berries.

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The Fine Art of Foraging

Justin Van Kleeck — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:00:21 +0000

For this Fourth of July, I chose to celebrate a day of independence by stressing out to prepare for a holiday party, nor by figuring out which fireworks show to go to, nor by basking in the presence of President Bush during his visit to Monticello here in Charlottesville.

No, for this Fourth of July, I tapped into the American spirit of freedom by going wild and getting out into the wild: I went out foraging for wild berries.

Luckily for me this was pretty easy, given the fact that I live in the country and have been walking by a seemingly endless stretch of wineberry bushes (and a few blackberry bushes) growing conveniently along the gravel drive. Oh, the tension of temptation has been building for so, so long now as I have watched the bushes form their little fuzzy pods, the pods pop open with the unripe berries peeping out, the berries growing redder and redder like little organic rubies building up their brilliance….

So on this day, at long last, I declared my independence from self-restraint and heroic patience by diving into the (thorny!) berry patches and going wild…and pickin’ pickin’ pickin’ away.

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Green Diva’s Guide to Delicious Living: Getting Ready for Fresh Berries - Meg’s Easy Berry Crumble Recipe

Megan McWilliams — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:37:03 +0000

This may be slightly premature, but we are having a very rainy Friday out here in the New York metro area and thinking about Summer berries cheers me up! I didn’t think I would be able to get a recipe out today, but here it is!

The great thing about this recipe is that it is simple and you can get creative with your ingredients! It is a colorful and delicious part of our summer and I can’t attend certain family parties unless I show up with this dessert.

Ingredients
2 sticks butter – softened
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
4 cups (approximately) of various berries – washed and cut as needed. (depending on what is in season and available locally, my favorites are blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and sometimes I throw in a pear or two)

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