Essential Fatty Acids are essential because your body absolutely needs these healthy nutrients, omega 3-6-9’s. We’ll all turned off by the word “Fat” but let’s take a closer look. The brain is made up of healthy fats, and we need to feed it essential fatty acids for clarity, focus, and improved mood. The cells are surrounded by essential fatty acids and if there is a lack of the good fats, the bad fats take over that job.

The joints function smoothly and pain-free when they are lubricated properly. The skin shows a healthy glow when it’s fed well from the inside out. Buttery, velvety facial skin, body skin, silky legs, irresistible feeling!

The bottom line is get juicy and stay juicy! We heal from the inside out and essential fatty acids are part of our healing. Are your insides smiling?

This time of year my clients start complaining about drying skin, brain fog and fatigue. I educate them right away on EFAs. My organic essential fatty acid favorite is Udo’s 3-6-9 liquid. It has superb organic quality flax, coconut, sunflower and evening primrose oil and is a perfect nutritional wonder for these common complaints. You can mix it in your morning shake, pour over a delicious lunch time salad, or just take right off the spoon, that easy! Find it at a health food store (or online at Drugstore.com) and get in the daily habit of taking 1-2 tablespoons. It’s great for kids as well. My teenager benefits from EFAs just like I do!

Udo’s 3-6-9 Oil contains all plant nutritional oils with 50% ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) which the body converts to EPA (eicospentaeonic acid) This means that the body will have the right amount of ALA and the body will control the conversion form these plant oils into the right amount of omegas for your body.

Stay juicy and crave vitality! Intrigued? Email me at Margaret[at]FocusedWisdom.com for more health inspiration and ideas!

So, when I received a sample of Crystal Light mocktails in Appletini and Margarita – at FIVE calories per serving – I was happy to give it a test drive. Though I usually shy away from artificial sweeteners (aspartame in this case) and food coloring, I will immediately admit that these drink mixes will completely satisfy taste buds of the calorie-counting gal. Spike with one ounce of vodka or tequila for about 70 calories and you’re saving galore calories and on sugar intake. I can deal with the artificial additives on the rare occasions when a good cocktail is called for. Like next week when Audrey is here. Ahem. To note, these mocktails are a great offering for those non-drinkers among us who are looking for more exciting flavors with a “party vibe”.

It appears that the Crystal Light Mocktails are only available for a short period of time (70 more days) but they are now readily available at your grocer or big box store. Stock up now!

And on the caloric/sugar intake note, you will want to beware of well-marketed products such as the pre-mixed SkinnyGirl™ Margarita. This blogger’s analysis explains that it’s not really what you think. And, “all natural” does not mean “less calories”.

And, it appears that I may be a new Crystal Light convert. I hadn’t touched the stuff until just a few months ago when I accidentally discovered their Crystal Light Pure flavors that contains no artificial sweeteners, flavors or preservatives. These taste great and the flavor helps me keep up my water intake (not a natural thing for me).

Great choices. No guilt.

	Indiana Infusions are made from the company’s award-winning Indiana Vodka. Five of the seven Indiana Infusions’ flavors were created by pairing a complimentary flavor to the prominent flavor for a completely unique offering: Chai Tea, Cherry Vanilla, Orange Cream, Honey Lemon, Raspberry Citrus, Chocolate Espresso, and Double Vanilla. See drink recipes by clicking on your flavor or choice.  List of retail spots here.
	Sub Rosa Spirits is handcrafted vodka made in Oregon. This distillery offers two infused vodkas. The first, Tarragon, is flavored with fresh organic tarragon (notes of licorice, fennel and mint), while the Saffron vodka is a mélange of eight spices (notes of cumin, coriander and saffron) that recall tastes of India and Asia. Look for local retailers here or buy them online through Vintage Wines. You can find cocktail recipes for these unique vodkas here. These mixes only make the uniquely flavored vodkas even more tempting.
	Charbay Vodkas are made with organically grown fruit and of other whole, fresh ingredients. Though this is a flavored vodka (as opposed to infused), there is NO use of essences, perfumes, dyes, fragrances & so-called “natural flavors” here. Charbay attributes the success of their flavored vodkas to their unique ingredient flavor and color extraction process. The extractions are integrated in the award-winning Charbay clear vodka. Flavors include blood orange, meyer lemon, ruby grapefruit, green tea, raspberry and pomegranate.  Purchases can be made directly from the website and recipes are listed through a link on each flavor page.

You may remember our mention of the DIY berry infused recipe. And that is certainly an easy route to go if you want to investigate your own flavor blends. Here are some other ideas for DIY infused vodka recipes from my favorite handcrafted vodka brand, Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

The media has done a pretty good job making sure EVERYONE knows that chocolate might be good for you. It’s hard to find a women’s magazine that hasn’t promoted this message, particularly this time of year when Valentine’s Day sends chocolate sales through the roof. Of course, we all want chocolate to be good for us, right? But is it really believable that chocolate, a member of the candy and other-naughty-foods category, is a health food?

Cocoa wasn’t really on the “good-for-you” radar until scientists stumbled upon an island off the coast of Panama. The Kuna Indians that inhabit the island consume an enormous amount of cocoa, often laden with salt. [Note to self: consider vacation on said island.]   They also are one of the few cultures that have unusually low blood pressure and therefore, low rates of heart disease.  But if a Kuna Indian moves to urban Panama City and stops eating the cocoa, blood pressure goes up. This tipped off the scientists that perhaps it’s the cocoa keeping them healthy and not their genetic makeup.

But it’s not that surprising that chocolate might have health properties. Chocolate contains cocoa, cocoa comes from plants, plants contain antioxidants, and antioxidants keep humans healthy. It’s been shown time and time again…people that eat more plants are less likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer.  And “plants” by definition, encompass a number of edible botanicals such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, tea, coffee and as the Incas used to call it, the “drink of the gods”, cocoa.  So perhaps the media reports about how chocolate does everything from preventing heart disease to increasing libido to relieving depression are true?

REALITY CHECK!

In the actual research studies, regular “chocolate” is not being tested. Scientists are not dolling out last year’s Halloween candy to subjects (although too bad, because I still have a lot of it laying around…not the good stuff, but the stuff no one wants to eat but I keep for emergencies). In most cases, scientists are using cocoa extracts or specially-prepared chocolate that contains a high concentration of antioxidants, because it’s those antioxidants that are the healthy component of chocolate. In far fewer studies, commercially-available dark chocolate is used, but only the good stuff (>70% cocoa). Milk chocolate, and the blasphemous white chocolate (which is technically not chocolate), do not contain enough of the antioxidants to do much of anything….other than fix a craving…and make a delectable cookie.

So with that in mind, here’s what we currently know about chocolate and health:

• As little as 3 small squares per day (~40 g) of dark chocolate (>70% cocao) can lower blood pressure in people who have high blood pressure, making it almost as effective as some blood pressure-lowering medications! As we age, blood pressure creeps up which means there are a lot of people out there that could benefit from a small daily dose of dark chocolate.
• By lowering blood pressure and improving other aspects of the circulatory system, dark chocolate protects against heart disease-related events like heart attacks and strokes. Hence, “Death by Chocolate” is really an oxymoron.
• Dark chocolate seems to help with blood sugar regulation, which means it may prevent type 2 diabetes. If you’ve picked up a newspaper in the last 2 years, you know that doctors are FREAKING OUT over the increase in diabetes. Foods that help prevent diabetes are a good thing.
• Unfortunately, even dark chocolate has calories and the biggest reason why people get type 2 diabetes is being overweight or obese. As such, doctors are a little reluctant to be prescribing chocolate as a means to reduce diabetes.

Now about the purported aphrodisiac-like qualities of chocolate…there is no scientific evidence that any type of chocolate (milk, dark or otherwise) simulates libido in women or men (ha, as if men need it). However, milk chocolate does stimulate “pleasure centers” within the brain as well as promote the release of neurotransmitters often called, “happiness hormones”. This can vary person to person, making the chocolate-brain link all the more interesting.

What does this all mean? First off, it is clear that eating dark chocolate can be a healthy habit, so long as it’s not expanding your waist line. That said, most unprocessed plant-based foods confer similar health benefits, so if you’re not a dark chocolate lover, no need to force it down…some leafy greens or tea will do the trick.

Finally, if you’re really looking for an aphrodisiac, might I suggest going old school….a glass of Cabernet while your husband does the laundry. According to my research, it’s much more effective than any box of chocolates.

But today, there is good reason to reintroduce this grain in our diet as testing that reveals Einkorn to be a much more nutritious grain. Genetically speaking, Einkorn is the purest form of wheat. It contains higher levels of protein, essential fatty acids, phosphorous, potassium, pyridoxine (B6), lutein and beta-carotene (lutein).  For those with a gluten intolerance, there is evidence that the gliadin protein of Einkorn may not be as toxic as that of regular, modern wheat.

Einkorn is still so “new” to us that it is not widely available. You order buy Einkorn wheat berries (though you would have to mill them yourself!) or Einkorn flour from the GrowSeed.org website. Einkorn.com also sells the wheat berries (but not the flour) and mentions a few recipes for Einkorn based bread product.

Personally, because I’m just never going to be that granola, I’m going the easy route and trying the Einkorn pasta (cook like any other pasta- easy!) from Jovial products, the only brand which offers 100% organic whole grain Einkorn pasta. You can find Jovial Einkorn pastas at Whole Foods or online at Amazon.

Santé to all in 2011!

My daughter’s 7th birthday was last Monday and we, of course, made cupcakes for the special occasion. My daughter wanted the Funfetti cake mix by Pillsbury (what not homemade?!) with store bought icing (it was her request). So, this was going to be a piece of cake (pun intended)! And to top them all off were beautiful Only Sweet Papers Butterflies by Rogue Confections.

Only Sweet Papers are edible parchments that allow you to decorate your own cakes or cupcakes with beautiful images. You can even personalize the parchments by uploading your own photo, artwork, or logo and customize further by adding your own message. They are so easy to use and they even make cupcakes frosted by young children  look elegant (see our photo here as proof of my kids’ handiwork. Cute, right?). My daughter’s classmates and teacher were so impressed.

Rogue Confections has a variety of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas Only Sweet Papers to add to your festivities. And while you are checking out the website, take a look at their wide variety of Belgian chocolates (dark, milk and white) with the same images as the Only Sweet Papers. Truly Edible Art!

After reading about Black Garlic, which has been lauded as the new savory ingredient-of-the-moment of chefs in five star restaurants, I had to, bien sûr, find out more about it.

I found Black Garlic at my favorite spice merchant, the Spice House (lucky you, they sell online). Roxanne, the lovely spice assistant told me more about this umami imparting ingredient. It’s hard to relate Black Garlic to… garlic. The texture is soft and chewy. The color is a copper-y black. And the taste is sweet & savory.The garlic is grown and processed in Korea and is made by fermenting whole bulbs of garlic at high temperature, a process that results in black cloves.

From the Spice House website: “[Black Garlic is] created by aging and fermenting raw garlic, black garlic cloves are slightly gummy and bursting with umami. The harsh astringency of raw garlic is tempered during fermentation to create a sweet, salty, earthy taste. Rich and addictive, black garlic can be eaten straight (it’s often consumed for its health benefits) or added to dishes from garlic noodles to lemon cookies.”   But it’s the flavor that’s making it the ingredient of choice for high end chefs in America, including Matthias Merges of Charlie Trotters in Chicago”.

Of course, I bought a packet and got cooking with some of the recipes mentioned on the site: the Black Garlic Tapenade and the dip. I have to say that I was not completely satisfied with these. Not that the recipes did not turn out well – they did. Rather, I was disappointed that the oh-so distinctive Black Garlic taste had been diluted among the rest of the ingredients. I was, however, very happy with the Black Garlic risotto that was a huge – savory – success. For my risotto experiment, I was inspired by a recipe found here and improvised by substituting red onion & parsley. Magnifique.

Well, there you have it. Now you have the scoop on the hottest ingredient of the season. And you can get it online at the Spice Market for $4.99 for a pouch containing 2 cloves.

Please let us know if you try it!

1. Your favorite juice, a 64 oz bottle
2. One Spike package, poured into the bottle
3. Seal the bottle
4. Wait 48 hours
5. Enjoy…

The fizziness is part of the natural fermentation process. Most juices will create an alcoholic beverage with about 14% alcohol.

Though I don’t think that this will satisfy the chichi palates, I’m pretty sure that this bootleg cocktail maker makes up for its lack of sophistication with low-cost (6 Spike packets for $10 + cost of your juice for 64oz of drink) and sheer fun.

The Spike Your Drink kits (including the gift pack) can be ordered directly from the website, here.

I want a martini with Spiked grape juice. No twist, but I’ll take an umbrella.

This summer, my mother-in-law, Betty, came to visit us and brought a package of  Salba® with her for me to try. She knows that I put wheat germ and ground flax seeds in everything – from muffins to meatballs – and thought Salba has even more health benefits than those two combined. Hmmmmm… could that be possible?

Not that I don’t trust my mother-in-law’s judgment, but I had to check this out myself. So this is what I found out. According to the website, Salba is the richest whole food source of Omega 3 fatty acids and fiber found in nature.

Gram for gram, Salba provides eight times more Omega 3s than salmon, four times more fiber than flax, six times more calcium than whole milk, and 13 times more antioxidants than blueberries. Plus it’s high in protein, magnesium, vitamin C, folic acid and iron. Furthermore, it contains a perfect 1:4 ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s. Well, for your curiosity, this ideal ratio is required for optimal health and hormones: regulating heart rate, blood pressure, blood clotting, fertility, immune support, and the reduction of inflammation. Inflammation is now understood to play a major role in chronic illnesses, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Inflammation is also a factor in many women’s hormonal issues, such as endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, PMS, fibroids, and fibrocystic breasts. Salba can also help people with skin issues such as acne and eczema.

And, we’re not finished yet, Salba is also all-natural, has no trans-fats, very few carbohydrates, and is certified Non-GMO, Vegan, Kosher, and Gluten-Free. Phew!

So where does it come from? Remember the Chia pets? Now we have a new reason to love them. There is an edible white version of those seeds they sprout from called Salba (Salvia hispanica L.). The grain was originally used as a food and medicine by the highly advanced Aztec civilization. They believed it gave them mystical, almost supernatural energy and power, (just knowing that, I’m hooked) and they used it in religious ceremonies that paid tribute to their deities. Aztec couriers devoured the grain as their main source of energy and as a way to reduce thirst. They called it “Running Food”.

Most of the earlier studies on Salba were done in Canadian Universities. The Canadian Diabetes society started supporting some of the research when it was discovered that Salba has a positive effect on people with diabetes. The American Diabetes society now recommends the consumption of Salba to help reduce cardiovascular risk in people with type 2 diabetes. The University of Toronto continues to study Salba and its connection with weight loss. Thus far they are excited about their preliminary results showing a reduction in after meal blood glucose and insulin levels and a suppression of appetite. Well that is good news!

For me, trying to feed a family of five the healthiest way I can, this is a no-brainer. There are many recipe ideas on the Salba website but I like to keep things simple. Whatever I am cooking or baking I add 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground Salba, which is tasteless and odorless, to almost everything. My favorite way to use Salba is to incorporate it while baking (cookies, pancakes and muffins) and for cooking (meatballs, sauces – it’s a natural thickener) and breaded chicken. Get the idea? I should also mention that last week I put Salba in my son’s birthday cake that his sisters and I made from Sof’ella Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix (from Fresh and Easy) and it did not change the texture or taste of the cake. I felt good not only seeing my family devour it but eating it myself!

Salba can be found in any health food store. I keep it on the counter in a jar, right beside the salt and pepper, so it is always handy. Let us know how you use it.

I have been serving a lot of this could-not-be-more-simple summer salad of late, to great acclaim. So, now that Farmer’s Market fresh tomatoes and cucumbers are rolling in, I thought that this was the perfect time to share the recipe.  You hardly even need to write it down:

Tomato & Cucumber Summer Salad for 4

• 4 chopped tomatoes
• 1 English cucumber, diced
• 1/4 onion sliced paper thin
• 1 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sumac
• Salt to taste

Mix, let sit for about 5 – 10 minutes and serve. I guarantee that everyone will be going for a second serving. Yes. Guarantee it. I’m ready to take bets.