Amazing Artichokes

Artichokes deserve their very own post!  Simply because artichokes are the detox powerhouse.  However, many people, including myself don't *really* like to buy them because they look at the vegetable and think, how would I eat this thing????  Don't worry, I used to think that way too...and here is my attempt to debunk your hesitations.

First, let me talk about the incredible properties of artichokes.  They are a liver-cleansing food, in other words detoxification.  Detoxification is important for battling diseases and keeping a healthy body.  Artichokes are a good source of silymarin, which helps protect and nourish the liver.

According to herbal experts Joe and Teresa Graydon, Ph.D. (authors of The People's Pharmacy), patients with chronic gastrointestinal (GI) upset who were given artichoke extract showed incredible improvement.  Another study showed patients experience relief from stomach pain, nausea and vomiting.  [Remember, findingfoodorlove.com does not provide medical advice, please consult your physician--but what awesome results!]

Second, how to consume whole artichokes.  After you buy a artichoke from the store, you will want to peel the outside layers by the stem, remove any fibers or small leaves at the bottom of the artichoke.  Next, cut the spikey tips of the artichoke leaves.  After you go around cutting all of them, cut off the top where all the leaves start to bunch up so you end up with something that looks like my picture.

Steam the artichokes for about 15-20 minutes.

That's it!  Now eat.  Just pull the leaves off and scrape the base of the leaf with your teeth.  When you get down to the heart of the artichoke, remove the hairy 'choke' (inedible fuzzy part).

I can eat with no dip.  It's really healthy.  It does take some work to eat, but in my opinion, when we have to work for our food, I think we eat better portions.

Source: The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth by Jonny Bowden

Breakfast for Champions

Hello! SUMMER!  Can't believe we are already in June, and I have a feeling this month is going to fly by!

Summer is ALL about eating more fresh vegetables and fruit because so much of it is in season, flavorful, and just makes life so immensely enjoyable.  Speaking of which, I snapped a picture of my fruit plate, which I call a breakfast for champions!

I eat in order of least sweet (or not 'as' in season) so that I can end on the most naturally sweet.  Here I started with the blueberries, apricot, kiwi, and ate the pineapple and watermelon interchangeably (but I think in the end the watermelon won, it was just so good.  The blueberries are now coming into season, but the ones we recently bought from Costco were not as sweet and plump as they have been in the past).

In addition, I have been starting breakfast with a plate of fruit.  During summer months with abundant fruit, it's a good time for me to change up my breakfast routine, which is usually oatmeal as I write in past posts.  I also read about a theory that eating fruit BEFORE your meal increases your enzyme absorption from the fruit.  Over the last couple of months, I have been trying this out.  At the very least, it does open up the palate and is very refreshing in the morning.

However, I do eat whole grains or something like oatmeal afterwards, as I have had stomach aches in the past when I only eat fruit for a meal.  Perhaps I am healthier these days, since my stomach is not as queezy when I consumer only fruit, but thought I would just note that for any wary eaters.

Up close picture of my yummy fruit :)

Michael Pollan's 'Food Rules'

An interesting animated video when it comes to the production of our food and the fossil fuel we need to do it.  Let alone the unspoken impact agriculture has on our environment.  We in the US really need to rethink how companies are growing our food and not let our current agriculture food framework dictate how we grow, eat and use energy going into the future.  Individual gardening is the first step in my opinion.  One can be very productive on even a plot of land the size of a car or two.  Turning this land that is currently mowed by gasoline and laden with pesticides into productive land to feed our mouth and our family's, organically.  Something to think about.

Michael Pollan's 'Food Rules' In Stop-Motion (VIDEO)

More on the Baobab Tree and Fruit

The baobab tree is an unusual tree found in Africa.  Perhaps the next big touted superfood, which is why it has peaked my interest.  From a healthy food perspective, baobab is a mainstay in the local African's diet, and has interesting medicinal purposes that people use it for in that part of the world (discussed further in this post).


Over generations, many names have been given to this mystical, HUGE tree.  In the desert, people can even stay inside the tree for shelter, at the base of the tree.  Adansonias trees can reach heights of 5 to 30 meters (16 to 98 ft) and have trunk diameters of 7 to 11 meters (23 to 36 ft).  20+ feet diameter for a trunk?!  The typical common name for this tree is baobab.  However, it also possesses other names including boab, boaboa, bottle tree, tree of life, upside-down tree, and monkey bread tree.  The generic name honours Michel Adanson, the French naturalist and explorer who described A. digitata.

In terms of medicinal purposes, the ancient Egyptians used it for treating fevers, dysentery and bloody wounds. For generations in Africa, Baobab is often given as a calming agent for those with a fever, but is also used to combat diarrhea, dysentery, small pox, and measles.  My friend who is from Togo says that her mom uses it as part of the post pregnancy recovery diet.  The baobab, like many other cultural traditional medicines, have been 'tested' by humans for 1000s of years.  No current day 'clincial' study can match that kind of dataset!

When talking about baobab fruit's nutrition, it seriously beats out most fruits that we eat in the US.  Baobab has 5x more potassium than bananas.  3x more antioxidants than blueberries.  Baobab is high in antioxidants, which slows oxidative damage and helps decrease inflammation.  It also has 2.5x more calcium than milk.  Baobab is super high in dietary fiber, especially pectins.  Half of the fruit is fiber. 

Source: Wikipedia, baobab.com