And yet, some of these foods use ingredients or cooking techniques that may not be as healthy as we might desire. Eating these foods doesn’t always make our body feel at its best. So, I thought I would provide you with a few ingredient or food choice tips which you can substitute to make some family recipes or dishes that are healthier to enjoy, and which also promote optimum health during the holiday season.

Potatoes are a nutrient-rich comfort food, but most people have traditionally used white potatoes, since there weren’t many other choices at the grocery store, and since this was what they were used to eating. However, a healthier choice when preparing a potato dish would be to consider using sweet or purple sweet potatoes in place of white potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are delicious and high in fiber and beta-carotene. Kansas State University has been studying the potential health benefits of the purple sweet potato and its anti-cancer properties. Purple sweet potatoes typically contain unusually high amounts of anthocyanin, which is a powerful anti-cancer pigment. Anthocyanins can be red, blue or purple depending on the food’s chemical structure. (These anthocyanins of blue, red, and purple color pigment can also be found in many colorful fruits, like blueberries, black raspberries, and red grapes.) Anthocyanins are known to have antiangiogenic properties. (Angiogenesis means the growth of new blood vessels. Anti-angiogenic means that it stops tumors from growing their own blood vessels.)  As I often state, the antioxidants are the color pigment of the food.

These dark purple, blue, and red foods also contain phenols. Phenols are organic compounds naturally occurring in certain foods, that have anti-aging and antioxidant components.  Additionally, an American Chemical Society study found that eating purple potatoes may lower blood pressure.

For a healthy stuffing, try making one with organic sprouted rice, wild rice or sprouted organic bread stuffing (using a bread like Ezekiel or Alvarado Bakery) in place of the white, refined bread. Then, bake your stuffing in a separate dish instead of cooking it inside the turkey (where it can absorb a high amount of saturated fat from the meat.) Also, use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth. Doing both of these things allows the vegetarian or vegan diners to be able to enjoy that dish as well.

When making cornbread stuffing, purchase the non-GMO, organic cornmeal (which is free of the bT toxin). If you are feeling brave, try using blue cornmeal, which is about 30 percent higher in protein and has more zinc and iron than white or yellow corn.

When preparing creature (turkey or other types of meat) foods, try using a little orange juice and coconut oil to add moisture, and try baking them instead of frying them. If you are baking, frying or sautéing anything, use organic, pure coconut oil or avocado oil in place of lard, vegetable oil or a trans-fat like Crisco. They handle heat well and have fantastic health benefits.

For other types of animal, fish or fowl, you can grill, broil, or sauté them in a little coconut oil. After you remove them from the heat, you can drizzle some pure, organic, extra virgin olive oil on them and serve with lemon juice or a lemon juice vinaigrette. When dining, choose skinless, white meat pieces, and then add just a tiny bit of gravy.

Now for dessert, try making a pumpkin pie! You can make a whole sprouted grain crust yourself or you can find a whole grain ready-made crust at the store, and serve the coconut milk whipped cream for the topping. It’s delicious and it’s a great way to cut down on dairy.

For dessert, I also love having a simple pitted date as a sweet treat. It’s just fruit, and it is a healthier choice.
Try using non-dairy milk in your recipes or for your coffee creamer. If you want it to be sweeter, blend the milk (like the unsweetened, vanilla coconut or hemp milk) with a little extra added vanilla or maple extract in a blender and add some pitted dates. I soak the pitted dates in water to make them softer so they will crème up easier, and voilà! You have a healthier version of a sweet, holiday creamer for your coffee or desserts. You can also add a sprinkle of freshly ground nutmeg (I use whole nutmegs in a pepper grinder) on top for a beautiful and delicious presentation!

When making or serving snacks, try an easy dip option such as a healthy high-protein hummus or nutritious guacamole. Cutting some cucumber, red bell pepper or celery to use as the dipping chips is also a great choice! If you want to serve crackers or chips, try using a whole grain, sprouted, organic version or an organic sweet potato chip or cracker. (Late July is a good brand for chips and Mary’s Gone Cracker’s is my favorite cracker these days.)

For additional snacks that are easy for travel or on the go, try combinations of organic, sprouted nuts, sprouted seeds, olives, pitted dates, raisins, dry fruits, kale chips and coconut chips.

Here are some easy substitutions I use frequently: 1. unsweetened cashew yogurt in place of sour cream, 2. hummus or mashed avocado instead of mayonnaise for sandwiches, 3. unsweetened vanilla coconut, hemp or cashew milk in place of dairy.

With these ingredient substitutions, you can still eat all the delicious flavors you love while enjoying a number of health benefits.

In this way, you can feel and look your best as holiday activities continue on into January. Instead of regretting what you ate, you will glow with radiant health.

So as we continue our traditions, remember that we can create comforting, wonderful memories with our families and friends by just relaxing, and putting a lot of love into everything we do.

It is the warm feelings in the traditions that we will always cherish. It truly is about being present, and being here, right now. Slow down and savor the moment. It is food for our soul.

copyright@nancyaddison2018

Nancy Addison is a certified health counselor, certified in plant-based nutrition, certified raw food chef, certified in Health-Supportive Cooking, and certified in Mediterranean Cooking. Nancy has written award-winning books on health, nutrition and cooking. You can reach her on her website, Organic Healthy Life, or find more easy, healthy recipes in Nancy’s books, using her universal author link for amazon: Author.to/nancyaddison

The information from Nancy Addison and Organic Healthy Lifestyle LLC is not offered for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of any disease or disorder nor have any statements herein been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We strongly encourage you to discuss topics of concern with your health care provider.

Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this article, book, podcast, website, email, etc. is for informational purposes only. The information is a result of years of practice and experience by Nancy Addison CHC, AADP. However, this information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging.

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The author and publisher are not liable for misuse of this material. This article, website and books are strictly for informational and educational purposes. Nancy Addison offers information and opinions, not a substitute for professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your physician, pharmacist, or healthcare provider before taking any home remedies or supplements, or following any treatment suggested by Nancy Addison or by anyone listed in the books, articles, or other information contained here. Only your healthcare provider, personal physician, or pharmacist can provide you with advice on what is safe and effective for your unique needs or diagnose your particular medical history.

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What we usually think of, when we hear the word carbohydrate, is a white, refined, wheat-based type of food. Refined carbohydrates like white, refined flour, pasta, and bakery goods have no or little fiber and are nutrient-empty. There is a difference in the way refined carbohydrates and unrefined carbohydrates are converted into glucose by the body. Refined carbohydrates are converted to glucose quickly, which causes blood sugar to spike. This makes the body work hard to get the blood sugar level under control. It puts pressure on the pancreas to make and release insulin, which works “like a key to open the door of the cells so glucose… can come inside and be converted into energy.”

If too many refined carbohydrates are eaten on a continual basis, driving up blood sugar levels, this will stress the pancreas and eventually it will have trouble making insulin. This can result in diabetes.

The body will also turn the excess glucose into fat. This can result in weight gain and obesity. Carrying too much fat can lead to glucose intolerance. The body will start ignoring the signal to take glucose from the blood.

Many nutrient-empty, refined foods have fructose (including high fructose corn syrup or agave syrup) in them. Fructose doesn’t appropriately stimulate insulin production, which means the body fails to suppress its “hunger hormone” leptin. This hormone suppression is what makes us feel satisfied, so fructose is actually making us feel hungrier instead of satisfied.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, spelt, and barley. More and more people these days are being diagnosed with gluten intolerance or celiac disease. An estimated 20 million Americans have gluten sensitivities. Because of hybridization, many gluten-containing grains today have 50–80 percent more gluten in them than they did 100 years ago.

The word “gluten” comes from the Latin word for glue. If you’ve ever made papier-mâché using glue made from wheat flour and water, you can understand how this mixture can be very hard for your body to digest. Symptoms from consuming grains containing gluten range from digestive problems to dandruff, skin disorders, kidney problems, and depression. Many people feel better when they eat a gluten-free diet.

Wheat is a grain that might be best to avoid for more than a few reasons. Wheat has the unusual characteristic of being able to raise blood sugar extremely quickly. Also, according to Dr. Steven Greer and David Wilcock, in 1960, Archer Daniels purposely developed a variety of wheat, with a protein called gliadin, to have more addictive characteristics in it than cocaine or heronine. You can find this gliadin protein in wheat, rye, and barley. You may also find it in oats, even though oats are gluten free. He said they developed it to have unnatural molecules in it that trick the thyroid into thinking it is T1, T2, T3, and T4, but it is not. This creates chemical imbalances. What this will do is effectively shut down the thyroid, which is our master gland that controls many of our bodily functions. The person who ingested this wheat (grain) variety, will be unable to get enough energy, and this leads to depression. Dr. Greer and David Wilcock said this became public knowledge from four of the scientists who worked on this food, for the  company,  Archer Daniels, reported this to the Christian Broadcasting Network. Gliadin has also been found to create permeability of the intestines.These are some fhe reasons why so many people are having intestinal problems, thyroid problems, and are finding that they can’t eat wheat or wheat products. As we can see, it’s not just the gluten that is causing these health problems. (I personally think this is very sinister that this was done and the FDA allowed it.)

In addition that, many of our foods today in the western countries “contain narcotic properties associated with the presence of psychoactive chemicals that bind to opioid receptors in the nervous system. These peptides are so powerful that researchers block their action with drugs such as naltrexone which is used to treat addiction among heroin abusers, and naloxone which is used to prevent death from heroin overdose.

These “food opiates” are heavily concentrated in wheat products. Wheat contains the following opioid peptides, known as gluten exorphins, alongside which are listed their amino acid structure:

• Gluten exorphin A5: H-Gly-Tyr-Tyr-Pro-Thr-OH
• Gluten exorphin B4: H-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Trp-OH
• Gluten exorphin B5: H-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Trp-Leu-OH
• Gluten exorphin C: H-Tyr-Pro-Ile-Ser-Leu-OH
• Gliadorphin: Tyr-Pro-Gln-Pro-Gln-Pro-Phe”

This wheat is going to do this to the body, whether it is refined or not. So, eating it as a whole grain won’t matter. My recommendation is: whatever grain, bread, or carbohydrate you buy, you want to make certain you always buy Organic and non-GMO foods both, and try to avoid purchasing breads or crackers containing wheat, especially ones that aren’t sprouted or whole.

Then, to process these nutrient-empty, refined foods, the body must pull nutrients from itself. The spiking of blood sugar from refined and empty food results in cravings, because when the body is not getting the nutrients it needs, it will start begging for them. On the other hand, feeding the body with nutrient-dense food gives it what it needs, and there shouldn’t be any cravings.

Because unrefined carbohydrates are fiber-rich, they take longer to digest. This means they do not put additional pressure on the pancreas to produce insulin in an unhealthy way. Unrefined carbohydrates, such as sweet potatoes, should be a major part of a well-balanced diet.

Packaging can be very deceiving and misleading. When looking at a package that says “whole wheat” or “whole grain,” read the ingredient list and make sure it says “whole” before every grain listed. If the ingredient list contains just the name of the grain, then it is not whole-grain.

You also want to make sure any of these products or foods are sprouted, so the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors are removed. Many carbohydrates, as well as proteins, (nuts, seeds, grains, beans, and lentils) are very healthy for you and are full of nutrients. But many people don’t know they contain phytic acid. Phytic acid can prevent the body from absorbing important minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc, as well as cause acid indigestion.

Phytic acid has powerful anti-nutritional effects because it binds to minerals in your food to form phytates, which makes those minerals unavailable to your digestive system. It also inhibits enzymes in the body that are vitally important for digesting food properly. The high level of phytic acid in nuts, seeds, grains, beans, and lentils is a serious problem in the modern diet, resulting in many health problems including tooth decay, nutrient deficiencies, lack of appetite, and digestive problems.

The phytic acid in nuts, seeds, grains, beans, and lentils can be removed by soaking and sprouting them. Historically, indigenous cultures always did this before consuming them or feeding them to their animals. This is not done in modern day society, to the detriment of human and animal health. This is why my cookbooks Include the steps of preparation, which includes making these foods free of the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors.

If you are buying gluten-free products, make sure they are sprouted and whole-grain, or sprouted beans, sprouted lentils, sprouted rice, sprouted, and check the sugar content. I have found that even in the seemingly healthiest packages at the “healthy grocery stores,” the gluten-free foods are alarmingly high in sugar. It is extremely important to find ones that are low in added sugar, preferably organic, non-GMO, whole-grain, and sprouted.

So, in conclusion, as we get into the holiday season and we are out dining/ partying at places where there may be a lot of carbohydrate choices, try picking the healthiest ones and avoiding the ones that can damage your health and well-being.

copyright@nancyaddison2018

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