Today we have Anna from Feminine Adventures guest posting! Join us as she shares her wisdom on adding simple foods to a diet for better health! And if you missed Kasey’s guest post Wednesday, you’ll want to be sure to read it! She challenges us to spend individual quality time with our children in Tying Family Heartstrings.
I really appreciate these dear friends sharing their wisdom with us this week.
The benefits of eating traditional, healthy foods are over whelming, but making the transition from our modern Western diet can be daunting.
For some in America, ketchup serves as their daily vegetable. Others eat fairly healthily, but want to do even better.
Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed. Don’t try to change overnight. Take baby steps towards better health.
As I’ve read about the amazing ways nourishing food helps protect our bodies, the benefits of three simple (and cheap) foods keep emerging. Incorporate them as you journey toward a more natural diet.
Important disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a nurse. The only hospital I have ever worked in is a doll hospital. There, a bandaid heals heart attacks. As always, please do your own research and consult with a healthcare professional for help treating illnesses!
Garlic (and onions!)
A bulb of garlic packs a staggering nutritional punch and has been used medicinally for more than 3,000 years.
Modern studies show that garlic fights infections, viruses and parasites!
According to studies compiled in Food: Your Miracle Medicine, garlic also lowers the risk of cancer, eats away at plaque formed on arteries, lowers high blood pressure, helps clear up diarrhea, and purifies the blood. That’s just the beginning. (Need more convincing? Check out Jill’s list of dozens of ways garlic helps protect us!)
(Be careful if you’re going in for surgery. Garlic thins the blood.)
Ways to eat more garlic and onions:
- Store minced garlic and chopped onion in a well-sealed container. (Unfortunately, garlic/onion powder has lost nutritional potency.) Add to fried hamburger, scrambled eggs, soups, stir fry or any savory food.
- Make your own dressings and sauces using fresh minced garlic.
- Fighting an infection? Make your own infection-fighting garlic poultice.
Bone-broth
Broken bones are on the rise, claim doctors across the country. Why? Lack of calcium. “Calcium deficiency is the major dietary deficiency in America’s children today,” says Dr. Duane Alexander.
A broth made from animal bones is a rich source of calcium, plus dozens of other essential vitamins and minerals. Follow Jill’s step-by-step instructions to make your own.
Ways to use chicken or beef bone-broth:
- Make your own cream sauces using bone broth as the base
- Cook rice or other grains in broth to add rich flavor
- Eat more soup (and don’t forget to add plenty of fresh garlic and onions!)
Yogurt
Yogurt is filled with living bacteria. Good bacteria. Modern diets and antibiotics put a strain on our gut, often killing good bacteria. Yogurt helps boost the good bacteria and balance the intestinal flora.
Not only that, but the live bacteria in yogurt help break down lactose, a sugar in milk that many people (up to 70% of the population!) have difficulty digesting.
Want to make your own? Here’s the simple recipe I use.
Ways to incorporate more yogurt into the diet:
- Serve yogurt topped with granola
- Use yogurt as the base for smoothies. (Freeze for refreshing popsicles in the summer!)
- Place yogurt in a strainer lined with cheesecloth and let the liquid (whey) drain off for a few hours to make Greek Yogurt. Add spices and herbs and use as a veggie dip.
- Make raita, a savory Indian salad. I add chopped cucumber or tomato to plain yogurt with a dash of salt and paprika. (Find real raita recipeshere.)
Resources and references:
Food: Your Miracle Medicine
Mommy Diagnostics: Guide to Herbs and Whole Foods for Health
Herbal Drugstore
Mommy Diagnostics: Guide to Herbs and Whole Foods for Health
Herbal Drugstore
What are your favorite cheap foods that have huge health benefits? How do you incorporate them into your diet?
(Full Disclosure: Links to products in this post are my referral links.)
Anna believes building a home for God’s glory is a high and noble calling. She seeks to capture the daily adventure of this calling on her blog, Feminine Adventures. There she writes about her passions: Christian womanhood, mothering little ones and homemaking. You can join her on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest
Thanks for breaking it down in easy steps. I am working my way slowly to better {natural} health for my family and it helps tremendously to find it made simple and practical. I get overwhelmed easily with all this learning stuff! Thanks a bunch Anna and Jill!!