Natural Weight Loss - Global Health Secret
By Gary
Scott
How do you feed a dog zucchini? Or how necessity is the mother of invention
that created a recipe for good health.
Two of the greatest things about living on a farm in summer are the garden
and the chickens. Each morning I walk out the kitchen door with an empty
basket, hear the soft sigh of the creek, feel the cool cleansing of mountain
mists and smell freshness from dew laden trees and grass.
Ambling to the barn I stop and pick a few fresh raspberries and strawberries,
eat them sweet off the vine and watch the morning sun rising over the ridge.
What a morning start! The chickens come running (I am their best friend at
this time of the day) and in their nests I find a clutch of brown and speckled,
eggs. Some are still warm. Heading back to the kitchen I pick vegetables
for the day. Along with the berries, the garden bristles with onions, potatoes,
sweet peppers, tomatoes, beans, peas, corn, several kinds of lettuce and
greens, spinach, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli, sunflowers, cucumbers,
zucchini, gourds, numerous squashes and a variety of pumpkins from pie makers
to large French ridges that will make humongous Jack O Lanterns this fall.
One can hardly go wrong with a three season diet plan when
eating from a garden like this! (See my two recent messages - see www.garyascott.com/health/587 -
about the three season diet).
Yet here is the crunch. When the vegetables ripen, they all seem to make
themselves ready to eat at once! I space my planting time in the hopes that
the crops will mature over a longer period but, we still end up with a huge
pile of fresh vegetables.
So right now Merri and I are in a zucchini crunch with dozens of fat, ripe
zucchini laying in the garden.
Since we get nearly a dozen eggs a day so we have perfected the art of bestowing
food gifts on our neighbors and friends, but one of our mainstays in this
field is our friend who has a dog kennel. Eggs are great in a canine diet.
But how do you feed a dog zucchini?
We had to find some other way. Enter necessity as the mother of invention
and three aspects of good nutrition: alkalinity, seasonal eating and protein-carbohydrate-fat
balance.
We learned over the years the importance of keeping our protein-carbohydrate-fat
balance at about 3 grams of carbohydrate to two grams of protein to one gram
of fat. (a good book on this subject is "Mastering
the Zone" by
Barry Sears Ph.D.
Then we learn in The
Three Season Diet developed by Dr. John Douillard, to modify this
balance having less fat in spring, more carbs in summer and more protein
during winter.
Yet there is a third aspect we were taught while living with the Shamans
and their apprentices in the Andes. Our diets should promote alkalinity in
our bodies.
The modern Western diet is far too acid and excess acidity can create a
list of ailments that are almost bewildering. Acidity allows bacteria, yeast
(Candida), fungus and mold to thrive in our systems. Acidity sets the stage
for chaos opening the door to sickness and disease. Over acidification of
body fluids and tissue underlies all disease. The body is only vulnerable
to germs when in an acidic state. Acid imbalance creates health problems
including skin eruptions and moles, headaches, allergies, colds and flu,
sinus problems, fatigue, mental confusion, depression, muscle cramps, inflammation
of the joints, irritability and lung congestion, plus urinary infections
and frequent and urgent urination. In addition (as if this is not enough)
excessive acidity is a key factor in early aging. In fact according to the
book, "The pH Miracle" written by Robert Young Ph.D. and Shelly
Young - see see this link acid waste and disposal could also be called the
aging process." In other words the more acidic we are the faster -old
we get!
Enter zucchini! One of the greatest ways to reduce acidity is by eating
large amounts of greens and some of the best sources are, lettuce, greens,
mustard, turnip and collard greens, spinach and zucchini.
Add these together, an overload of zucchini, our desire to eat right, all
we have learned from the three books mentioned above and our years of living
with health experts, mix in a bit of the mother of invention, get us in the
kitchen and presto a new, fast, easy to prepare, healthy, delicious recipe
is born.
Before sharing this recipe, let me introduce some secrets from our kitchen.
Merri is an incredible cook who loves preparing delicious but healthy meals.
She is a long haul food preparer loving the process of cranking out breakfast,
lunch and a light dinner every day. This is not work for her and as you can
see this from the raves about food at the postscript to this message below,
she is good. So she gets and deserves almost all the credit for our meals
here at the farm.
Yet it is little known fact that I am also a bit of a closet cook, especially
when it comes to the sauce. In fact you could even say I am a bit saucy!
So when Merri told me about the curative alkaline value of zucchini and
I looked at our growing supply in the garden, my mind went to work keeping
protein balance and seasonal eating in mind. Merri was serving us a meal
with cucumbers and quinoa, so I thought about creating a zucchini sauce.
Here is what I chose to prepare for the two of us...and I must admit it was
delicious!
In the blender, |
1 cup Cottage cheese
for protein |
1/2 cup milk for liquidity |
Half a medium, washed,
unpeeled, raw zucchini as an alkaline cleanser |
Salt and pepper to taste |
Throw the ingredients in the blender and whip it up. Mine
was medium thick sauce and it was delicious and creamy, though it only took
me about five minutes to prepare. This consistency is perfect for pouring
over pasta, barley, rice, in a baked potato as well as over other grains
such as quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, and teff. We use quinoa often as it’s
the only grain that is a complete protein (more on this in moment). However
thinned down just a bit this blend also makes a delicious chilled soup! You
can reduce the milk to thicken the blend a bit and it becomes a wonderful
summer dip for serving with vegetables or (naughty - naughty) potato chips
and such.
This blend is a protein balanced, alkaline inducing, summer combination.
Dr. Douillard in his book describes all the ingredients as summer foods when
he writes.
"Zucchini (or summer squash) is a sweet and cooling vegetable harvested
in midsummer that is a blood purifier and a mild diuretic and refrigerant,
making both the yellow and green varieties great anti-heat summer vegetables.
In spring and winter they should be well cooked.
"Cheeses are sweet and somewhat cooling. Cottage cheese is the best
cheese in the summer."
"Milk is sweet, cool and heavy, good in summer."
We used Quinoa for the protein in this case but this was prepared before
I thought of the sauce. With the cottage cheese this may have been a bit
of protein overkill, plus the three season diet says that this is a sweet,
astringent high protein grain source but in summer, summer types should eat
it in moderation.
We may get away with a bit more fire living high in the mountains where
it remains cool. If we were in Florida or in an area where temperatures really
rise, barley may be a better grain in summer. Barley is a wheat alternative
that is sweet and cool and is best as a cooling antidote to the heat of summer.
So this summer when the days grow hot, you can use this simple recipe to
get lots of taste compliments, but know that you are helping those you love
with their health as well as their taste buds.
Please help make the world a healthier place and pass this recipe to your
friends by telling them to click onto this page or ask people to email info@garyascott.com
Until next message, may your good health be no secret!
Gary
P.S. Join us at a conference in the future. See garyascott.com/catalog - and
learn about as you enjoy eating delicious, easy to prepare, healthy meals.
Here is what just a few of the comments that those who have been with us
here have written.
"Hello Merri and Gary- I just wanted to thank you two for a relaxed
time on your farm. The food was really wonderful and the atmosphere was gentle
and disarming." JB Texas
"Merri, your wonderful cooking deserves very special thanks. Everything
was delicious. I'm now using close to your ingredients but I miss a lot in
the result and long for a recipe or two." NH Ireland
"We've decided to change our eating patterns since we came home because
we so enjoyed our meals at the farm and how we felt physically. Thanks so
much. With love" JJ, New Chicago
"After eating all that delicious food I gained 3 lbs but it must be
in muscle weight as my pants fit loosely!" RV New Mexico
"The international flavor and attitude of the group was very stimulating,
particularly when we split up into discussion groups. Those groups, taking
walks together, eating such delicious healthy food outside in the fresh air,
rooming together, allowed us to get to know each other on a personal level." BR
California
"A special warm "thank you" to Merri for the wonderful cooking
and the "feel at home" atmosphere!" EV Florida
"The food was so delicious and I thought I ate a lot, but during the
week I lost six pounds!" WB Australia.
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