Starting up again....

After 3 years of creating personalized protocols for clients at InVite Health, I left my job thinking I would become a wildly successful freelance wellness consultant. However, that path apparently wasn't the right one for me. Now, I have a daughter who is almost one year old, and I find that even when I want to do the work, the most convenient time for me is unpredictable during the day, or simply too late at night to be conducting business. So I decided to blog about about health. In fact, I am going to put my protocols on here, because I believe that knowledge is freedom and freedom is power, so the more you know about your own health, the better off you are.

I will make a format as I go, but if you have an opinion, let me know! I would like to set up a link to donate, and an option to order certain supplements through me. I will also post recipes, and product recommendations, because it seems that I often search for those things myself, and find them on other people's blogs! What a great resource. I hope I can be a resource as well.

If you are reading this, please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR OR LICENSED HEALTH CARE PROVIDER. I AM WRITING ABOUT THINGS WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT HELP YOU. I AM NOT GUARANTEEING RESULTS, NOTHING I SAY IS FDA APPROVED, AND IF YOU DON'T TALK TO YOUR OWN DOCTOR OR MIDWIFE OR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT OR NURSE PRACTITIONER, THAT IS YOUR OWN DECISION. IF YOU ARE TAKING MEDICATION OR ARE PREGNANT OR NURSING PLEASE TALK TO YOUR PROVIDERS!!!!!!

Super nutritious curry-in-a-hurry

I was faced with a dilemma. Nearing bathtime (for my baby), no leftovers to speak of, and trying to save money, I did a refrigerator/cupboard challenge and discovered that delicious curry can be only moments away!

Here is what I had available to me:

1 cup leftover white rice, cooked Latin-style with sauteed onions and salt

Partial bag of dried red lentils - about 1/2 cup or so

Turmeric powder

Garam Masala spice blend

2 small cloves of garlic

1 inch of fresh ginger

1/3 qt of vegetable or chicken stock

Baby spinach, prewashed

Fresh cilantro

Salt and Pepper

I was desperate for time, so I rinsed the lentils (ideally you should sort them as well, although at that particular moment I can't confirm I did that), and started some oil in a pot. While it was heating, I prepped the garlic and ginger. I think I cut off the ginger peel for speed, but normally, I like to peel ginger with a spoon, so I don't waste as much as I do with a peeler or knife. If you have old, shriveled ginger, the spoon won't work. Cut the ginger as you like it- for a small amount, you can smash it with the side if the knife just like garlic, and then chop or mince from there. For garlic, I used the classic smash-peel-chop technique. I added them to the pot together, and a soon as they became nice and fragrant, but before they burned, I added the spices. Now this is also based on how you like it, but if you are new to curry, keep this general rule in mind: use just a small amount of garam masala - too much overpowers the dish- and don't go overboard with the turmeric either. It is very mild tasting until you put too much, and then it just doesn't taste very good. For such a small batch of lentils, I used about 2 or 3 tsps of curry, 1 tsp of turmeric, and 1/2 tsp of garam masala. Stir the spices into the pot, and fry for a minute, until fragrant. Add the lentils and broth or water. Usually you want the water to be about 2 or 3 times as much as the lentils, depending on how thin you like it. You can always add more liquid, but if it's cold, it will slow down the cooking time. It's better to add more water and just cook it off. However, a 2:1 ratio should be adequate for red lentils. Bring the pot to a boil, and then lower the flame, allowing it to simmer for about 15 minutes. If you like your lentils spicy, you can add cayenne or red chili flakes while cooking, or just in your bowl.

While the lentils are cooking, rinse and chop cilantro, and if you want, chop or tear the pre-washed spinach. I usually keep the spinach whole. The more you increase the surface area of the food, the more nutrient loss there is from the processing. I only coarsely chop the cilantro, but do it to your liking. Dill is also delicious in this recipe, if you are not a cilantro fan, or have one of those massive bunches of dill from the store you are trying to use up. When the lentils are completely soft, you can turn off the flame, toss in the spinach and cilantro, and stir well. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve with rice or bread.

A note on the greens: The more you use, the better the nutrition content. Spinach cooks down quite a bit, so I usually add what looks like way too much, about 3 or 4 cups, and by the time it wilts, it looks very reasonable in the pot. Cilantro is one of the best detoxifying herbs, being very high in chlorophyll. Plus, the more greens you add, the more alkalinizing the recipe becomes. I use about 1/2-1 cup of chopped cilantro or dill.

Here is a nutritional analysis for the recipe. My favorite thing about www.nutritiondata.com is that it gives an anti-inflammatory rating as well as a glycemic load number. It doesn't account for the spices, which are anti-inflammatory, but this recipe still has a great score. Check it out! http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/recipe/1304568/2?quantity=4.0&nc=1&autosave=form.info.autosave