Astonishing, isn’t it? Doesn’t this meal look great? How can you resist it! Here’s a beautiful, delicious example of an alkaline pH meal — avocado sushi, wrapped in nori and served with wasabi horseradish and fresh ginger on the side. Yum! Better yet, eating in a pH-balanced way doesn’t have to be ‘weird’ and it can be fun and adventurous too. Want to learn more? Let’s start!
By the way, if you make vegetarian sushi at home, like I often do, then it is much healthier to use short-grain organic brown rice, as it is more pH neutral than the white rice in the sushi above, (which my husband got commercially). White rice, except for japonica type, has quite an acidic pH, surprisingly.
Far fetched? Not at all. Each form of any food has its own pH value and it is based on how it’s exact metabolic residues are after we use it in our body for energy. If that food’s ash is alkaline, then we say the food is an alkaline food. You can see a chart series of the best alkaline vegetables at:https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com/2007/11/27/ph-strategies-use-alkaline-winter-vegetables-to-produce-an-alkaline-ph/
Get this. Grains are generally quite acid-forming! There are some grain substitutes which are alkaline e.g. quinoa and wild rice. Millet, japonica rice and (some say) oats are actually the only somewhat alkaline grains (keep their use very moderate).
But you know what else? The reason we are discussing alkaline vegetables is because they need to be the foundation of your diet. So, first off, let’s check out some powerhouses! Today, it’s —
CUCUMBER:
It’s a seldom-thought-about vegetable that we eat all year, although it’s normally best in season, which is summertime. But for anyone who is trying to become pH balanced, cucumber is critical. Fact is that cukes are some of the most alkalizing foods on the planet and they are so portable. For example, there’s a company which is now marketing what they call a “Gorilla Sandwich” * and what is that? Guess! All kinds of yummy raw veggies, seeds, nuts etc. layered into 7/8 of a hollowed-out cucumber, and ‘topped with a unique cap from the tip of the other 1/8! It’s really easy picnic food and that means it’s perfect for eating at work, too!
In any event, just remember to use the part you hollowed out; make it into juice or whizz it into salad dressing. It is not good to fractionalize food; always try to eat the whole food, preferably at the same meal, as that’s what your body expects and understands.
Here’s the details on this fun sandwich and if you make some tasty versions, please write me at the box at the About Me tab, above:
http://www.gorillasandwich.com/
But, remember this, if you are chronically-ill OR have weakened or upset digestion, you need to have the best food-combining in mind. For instance, fruits do not combine well with anything else. Purists will allow you to combine them with vegetables or each other (but melons can only be eaten alone, not even with other fruits!). So, for best digestability and your being able to utilize all the lovely organic food you buy, bear that in mind.
Furthermore, vegetables are the only food group that food-combines with any other group, and still allows proper digestion. It’s simple, find respect for veggies; take time to find your favorites and aim for far more than 5 different ones a day!
Just for the record, cucumbers are members of the Gourd Family, botanically, and many members of this food-family are helpful for pH alkalinity to provide pH balance in our acid-producing world.
Treat yourself. Here’s a favorite cucumber dish of mine; it is one I have from my maternal grandmother, Eva, who was a wonderful, expert Sefardic Jewish cook, and Sefardi cuisine, like all Mediterranean Diet cuisines, emphasizes vegetables. And now, let me introduce my Mum.
This salad is also a favorite of my Mum, Muriel, who has been our family’s matriarch for the past 17 years. She turns 85 at the end of this week. We wish her “Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!”
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Nanna Eva’s Cucumber Salad
___ Take ripe, sweet organic tomatoes and slice in 1/4″ thickness or in half, if grape-size or cherry tomatoes
___ Add thinly sliced leek, white section only, from a medium size leek, (use the tops elsewhere in the meal and a little as garnish, if ultra-finely sliced)
___ And 1/4″ slices of English cucumber, unpeeled, or regular cucumber (peel it if it’s been “waxed” and then scrape it lengthwise with the tines of a fork to make it beautiful, when sliced). (Use about twice as much tomato as cucumber.)
___ Add several tablespoons of organic, extra-virgin olive oil
(My addition would be to substitute 1T organic hempseed oil or organic flaxseed oil instead of one of the olive oil measures.)
___ add an equal amount of Bragg’s or Spectrum’s organic apple-cider vinegar (ACV), with the enzymatic mother-of-vinegar. Be sure to use an organic ACV (buy them online), and not a chemically-produced, commercial one like Heinz! BIG difference for Health – Heinz-types are extremely acid-producing in your body; surprisingly, these specific natural-types are alkaline producers!
___ sprinkle with Celtic or other excellent sea-salt and fresh-ground black pepper
Marinate a few hours in refrigerator, in a glass container, and toss periodically so all vegetables are seasoned. Serve cold.
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Scandinavians also have marinated cucumber salads, so you can get some ideas from there, too.
And, here’s another which is easy to make and keeps well, too.
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Shelley Redford Young’s Energizing Cucumber Salad
from “The pH Miracle” by Dr. Robert O. Young, PhD, DSc
2C cucumbers, chopped (organic or hothouse-grown)
2T organic, parlsey, chopped
1 – 2T lemon juice, (preferably organic)
1T flax seed oil or olive oil (preferably organic)
1/3C finely chopped peppermint leaves
Toss everything together and chill overnight. Toss again before serving.
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Or, if you prefer, instead of that commercial “stuff” with its high table-salt amounts and flat taste, try this.
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I added at least one more vegetable ingredient, so I call it:
Em’s V-9 Cocktail
1 large or 2 medium, sweet tomatoes OR 1 pint grape / cherry size organic, vine-ripened tomatoes
1 English cucumber, chunked approximately in 1/8ths
3 -4 cloves of organic garlic (make sure it’s not from China!)
1 organic red bell pepper, cut in sixths
3 organic romaine lettuce leaves, each cut in thirds
1 leaf organic kale or 3 leaves of frisee endive or 1 handful of mixed, organic Spring Greens pre-washed salad
1/2″ gingeroot, scrubbed and minced OR about 1T sliced sushi ginger
1t kelp granules ( www.seaveg.com ) and / or 1/4 C alfalfa or clover sprouts
1/2 a can / carton of coconut juice** or lite coconut milk, more if needed OR same amount unsweetened almond milk
2t hemp oil*** (optional)
Wash the veggies, as needed. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender, and run until it is smooth.
Taste first! Add some sea salt, fresh cayenne pepper or black pepper, if desired. Enjoy!
GARNISH:
hemp seed or chopped parsley
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* Gorillas are the largest and strongest Primates, and they are completely Vegetarian. We can learn a lot about our natural dietary birthright from them.
** Coconut juice is the water inside the coconut when it is first opened; it is a perfect food, if from a previously unopened, undamaged nut. Coconut “milk” is made from the flesh of the coconut. Read more of my articles about coconut in the Title Archive on the upper toolbar. There’s lots to learn. It’s an important food.
*** Hemp oil is the best vegetarian source of heart-healthy, brain-healthy Omega-3 essential fatty acids, the kind we need daily and that we buy wild-caught salmon, mackerel and sardines for. Always keep hemp oil refrigerated, away from light, and never cook with it; use it only for smoothies, salad dressings or other raw uses. Get it and hempseed from Nutiva http://nutiva.com .
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Well, That’s it for now. The 8 day Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, begins this evening, so I will be busy this week with Mum’s birthday and 8 days of celebration! I wish all of you a wonderful Holiday Season and that, as we near and pass the Solstice, we will see our Lives brightening with Hope, which then results in Action, to make a more Peaceful, Safe world now and always.
Best to all — Em
(c)2007 Em https://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
If you desire to quote from or use my article, please respect my copyright and include the full copyright citation and website address in your copy. Thanks!
Everyone knows someone who needs this information!” (TM)
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