Spring is a favorite season of many. It also means that summer is fast approaching. It also brings to our thoughts fresh food straight from the farm. What you see in your supermarket and grocery of choice is no longer fresh. In fact, it may have been on that shelf for a number of days. It may have spent a lot of time going around the block, as it loses both its healthy benefits and its good taste. Yes it’s true that some farms still use poisonous and dangerous chemicals and fertilizers to grown their crops, some have adopted the organic way of growing crops or at the very least, limited the usage of these harmful, unhealthy methods. Have a conversation with your friendly neighborhood farmers and you’ll see how much they yearn to share with you details about their food and how those are grown. When you purchase locally grown crops, you can more often than not stay away from Genetically Modified Crops or GMOs as they are called. These are the crops that should be avoided by everyone.
Let’s say you don’t have any farm-stand ready. No problem. You still have a way of enjoying all the recipes below. Just look for those organically grown or you can even try growing your own. But what if you have no space to grow such crops? Did you know that some gardens, like those that grow herbs require only a few square feet and they can have some very strong cancer-fighting ingredients? Take for instance cilantro. This herb has proven to be very useful in the removal of metals like mercury from our bodies. You should also take advantage of the summer since it is the perfect season to incorporate kales, basils, arugulas, cilantros andgarlic scrapes into your pasta pestos and sandwiches.
Tomato Basil Salad
A pint of cherry tomato, basil and extra virgin olive oil (organic)
Cut the tomatoes in half. Slice the basil and place them with the tomato halves. Sprinkle the mixture with extra virgin olive oil.
*I try oils which have herbs like basils, rosemaries, garlics or lemons. But for this particular dish, I use oil with either rosemary or basil. If there are no oils of such kind available in your area, look for Arlotta olive oils. I swear, they’re the best I’ve ever had. Arlotta also makes amazing balsamic vinegar.
A tomato is a fruit with where strong cancer-fighting properties. This isbecause of a group of ingredients that synergize and blend well with each other. Ingredients like lycopene, beta-carotene, vitamin C and other nutrients and antioxidants all work hand-in-hand to protect the body against cancer. However, one should be careful to consume only those grown organically or in a local farm, fresh. Stay clear of the commercial kind since they are more than likely GMOs, and ultimately bad for your body.
Basils have a lot of antioxidants and are very potent against inflammations that plague the body. It also has what are called flavonoids that aid in protecting the body’s cells from harm caused by radiation or oxidation. Aside from the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, basils are also powerful against bacteria. When you incorporate this in your meals, you are ensuring your safety when eating your veggies.
Grilled Striped Bass with Dill Sauce
Two-thirds cup of sliced dill (fresh), one-fourth cup of extra virgin olive oil, two spoons of balsamic vinegar, a spoon of fresh lemon juice, four to six pieces of striped bass, salmon or other kinds of fish, skinless, with each piece around half a pound.
First, blend the dill, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh lemon juice in a small blender until it is almost in liquid form. Add salt and pepper for taste. Add a little bit of fish, again with salt and pepper. Try grilling the fish for eight to ten minutes. Stop when you feel it’s cooked. Don’t overdo it. Apply some dill paste on the fish.
Dill has a lot of antioxidants. It keep free radicals from damaging the body and stops the effects of carcinogens that finds its way into our system.
Grilled Eggplant with Rosemary Oil and Cheese
One to two eggplants, cheese, extra virgin olive oil, rosemaries
Cut the eggplant either vertically or horizontally. It would depend on how you want it. But for grilling, cutting it horizontally, down the length of it is recommended. Add small amounts of salt and pepper on the sides of the eggplants. Lay it on a paper towel. Wait for half an hour so the eggplants won’t take in a lot of oil.
While waiting, you can slice the rosemaries and add extra virgin olive oil. Use this mixture to coat the eggplants. Now, try grilling both sides of the eggplants before adding the cheese of your choice. After melting the cheese, you can take out the eggplants.
This particular recipe is perfect with tomatoes or the tomato salad mentioned above.
Eggplants are very fibrous and they rich with health-friendly ingredients. They are also very potent against cancer because of their antioxidant properties that combat free radicals which provide protection for cells. Nasuin, one of the ingredients found in eggplants is known to disrupt blood flow to cancerous cells.
Rosemary like the other food listed here is very potent against cancer. It has two kinds of acids (caffeic and roemarinic) which are strong antioxidants and very helpful against body inflammation. These offer protection for the cells of the body against harmful free radicals. Carnosol, another ingredient found in the herb aids in detoxifying harmful substances that can ultimately lead to breast cancer. Since the unstable levels of estrogen in females are found to be connected to breast cancer, the live-stimulating properties of rosemaries can help neutralize this. Rosemaries, thymes, oreganos, basils and mints boost apoptosis within cancerous cells thereby decreasing the rate at which they grow. They do this when they block enzymes cancerous cells require to infect close tissue. Rosemaries can also slow down the creation of HCAS by seventy-five percent. HCAS are cancer-causing substances that are created when protein is cooked.
Grilled Zucchini with Chopped Dill
One or two zucchini, dill, extra virgin olive oil.
Cut the zucchini. Slice the dill and add it with the extra virgin olive oil. Coat the zucchini with the mixture. Add a small amount of salt, pepper and grill.
Zucchinis can provide protection versus cancerous cells with its antioxidant properties and it’s also very useful against body inflammation. It also has a lot of potassium content and lutein.
Watercress and Red Cabbage Salad
Slice watercress after washing. Take away the covering of red cabbage and cut thinly. Add extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You can also opt to include a small amount of pine nuts or parsley. Add a bit of salt. Toss the salad.
Watercress has a huge amount of beta-carotene, and has calcium and lutein in abundance. You can also find a small amount of omega 3. It apparently also has a lot of PEITC. This is known to intercept chemicals that contribute to the growth of cancer. It may even protect the respiratory system from chemicals of tobacco, although SMOKING IS STILL BAD.
Red cabbage fortifies the immune system and is one of the cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous veggies are known to contain indoles which metabolize estrogen. It also has flavonoids that offer more than thirty kinds of chemicals that fight cancer. Red cabbages also have an abundance of glutamines which are amino acids that are effective against bodily inflammation. Red cabbages help our immunity by producing a lot ofantibodies. Read cabbages also have a truckload of sulfur and other minerals that clean the digestive tract. This protects us from indigestion and from being constipated.
Parsley just like all the other vegetables and herbs mentioned here is very useful against cancer and bodily inflammation. It has a lot of what we call phytochemicals which delays cells from dividing. This is important since cells now have time to make corrections in the DNA or to proceed with apoptosis. Studies conducted recently revealed that a compound in parsleys and celeries can actually prevent the multiplication of cells in breast cancer tumors, thus stunting its growth. Consuming parsley daily is a good idea.
More important things to remember…
Using pure sea salt is highly recommended since those sold commercially have gone through processing such as chlorine treatment.
A lot of balsamic vinegars sold in your local supermarkets are not only very expensive, but are also imitations. Look for high-end balsamic vinegars with zero additional additives.
For extra virgin olive oil, only go for the organic ones or those that are famous. Many extra virgin olive oils have additives.
Stay away from canola oil. There are no canola plants in existence. Canola actually means Canadian oil with low acid. It originates from rapeseeds whose oil has been used for industrial products. When you see a candle or a lipstick or a soap, odds are they have some trace of canola oil in them. It’s not healthy at all.
