Update! Summer Breakfast: Papaya & Berries

Eating more fruit over the summer will help your body cool down.  I've also noticed that I'm digesting fruit in the morning better now than brown rice porridge!  Must be the change in season.  I like this simple and quick way to enjoy a nice fruity breakfast.  I got the papaya from Trader Joe's (Caribbean Red Papaya) and organic berries from whole foods.  Enjoy this with a nice hot cup of kukicha tea :)

Benefits of Papayas


Digestion
Besides the great amount of antioxidants in papayas like Vitamin C, E, and betacarotenes, the proteolytic enzymes found in papayas are very important to digest food.  The main enzyme papain helps to break down protein and helps treats bloating and chronic indigestion.  You can even find the papaya enzymes in tablet form but it's always better to eat it naturally straight from the fruit.

Cleanser
A natural cleanser for your colon is drinking a quarter pint of papaya juice, cucumber juice, and green bean juice intermittently for 12 hours.  Papaya is also very rich in fiber binding itself to cancer-causing toxins and flushing itself from the colon.

Inflammation
As previously mentioned, papain breaks down protein which also breaks down protein in the skin.  Therefore ingestion can help move dead skin and treat skin injuries, psoriasis, warts, ringworms, and cold sores.  This in combination with its high levels of antioxidants makes papayas great for your skin.

 

Restaurant Review: Lemonade L.A. (Pasadena, CA)

Their summer seasonal lemonade flavor is peach ginger lemonade.

What screams summer more than fresh squeezed lemonade!  I did a review on Lemonade L.A. at their USC location, but had a chance over summer to go to their Pasadena location multiple times.  If you're unfamiliar with how lemonade works, first thing you should know is that this place is not all vegan, they do serve meat, fish, and a lot of dairy desserts.  However their deli salad marketplace area is vegan heaven.  Just ask them which of their marketplace items are vegan and they'll point it out for you.  They usually have at least 5 items that are vegan.  You can order up to 3 full portions and you can have the portions split.  So then your 3 different marketplace choices turns into 6 different half size choices.  They rotate their menu with seasonal specials and the main hit for summer is their farro special with lima beans, chickpeas, and kalamata olives.  I absolutely love farro and this was the first time I actually tried it cold as a deli salad.  The olives gives it a nice kick and the lima beans gives the farro a very light almost creamy consistency.  I split the 2 portion option and got the farro special with 1) kale, mushroom, kumquat vinaigrette, 2) cauliflower, golden raisins, almonds, curry, and 3) snap peas, edamame, sesame.  So I urge you to head on down to the closest Lemonade L.A.!  Oh and don't forget to grab a lemonade.  They always have an unsweetened flavor which would be the most macro.  If you're in the need for an immediate cool down then try these macrobiotic summer drink refreshers!

Raspberry Lemonade

Just a few drops of lemon juice is a natural energy booster.  Mixed with antioxidant powers found raspberries, this drink protects against cancer and muscular degeneration.

1/4 cup fresh raspberry puree

lemon juice to taste

1 cup water

Apple juice to taste (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a blender till mixed well.

Refreshing Grapefruit Spritzer

 Grapefruit is a rich antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of heart disease and prostate cancer.  Perfect for a summer night!

1/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice  

1 cup sparkling water

Add ingredients into a glass and stir.   Try additional flavors with ginger, apple, lime, lemon, cinnamon, cranberry, pomegranate, and cherry.

Iced Barley Tea

This is a good summer drink and helps reduce fever, cooling the body.

Roast barley in a skillet, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until a fragrant aroma is detected. To 1 portion barley, add 10 times the amount of water . Bring to a boil, reduce flame, and simmer 10 minutes.


Lemonade L.A. (PASADENA LOCATION)
146 S. Lake Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101
626-304-7700
Open Daily 11am-9pm




*Street parking is available.  Seating is cafeteria style so it can be quite a challenge to find a seat when it is busy.

Bending the rules for summer

Visit your local farmers market to see what's in season!

So many fruits and veggies fall into the "use sparingly or avoid" category because of its extremely yin qualities.  However, because it's local to some regions and in season right now, you can definitely experiment to try and see how your body reacts.  I admit, I did try to eat some of these earlier in the year but noticed that my body just did not seem to accept it.  But now that summer has started I decided to revisit them and I love it!  Key is to eat them cold, like in salads.  This will help cool down your body even more for summer.  I think it's so amazing how our body adapts to our surroundings.  So go ahead and read the list of forbidden fruits and veggies.  You'll see that they have vital nutrients that our body needs so take advantage of them now!

1) Avocados

This little green hulk is on a rampage right now.  It's everywhere!  Research shows that avocados significantly increases the absorption of lycopene and beta-carotene.  Yes, it's high in fat, but these heart healthy fats especially phytosterols helps inflammation.  I've been adding them on top of my salads.  I find that it gives it a really nice caesar dressing taste.  I usually just use half and store the other half in the fridge by squeezing some lemon on it (with the pit still in it) and warp it up in saran wrap.  It tends to last 1-2 days.  Another great way to use it is in brown rice sushi and wrapped in nori with some sprouts, carrots, and peppers.

2) Tomatoes

These have high antioxidant power, hence the deep red color, because of its lycopene concentration.  I haven't taken so kindly to tomatoes, however I find cherry tomatoes to be the big hit this summer and much better to digest.  I tend to have just a few in my salad which brings a nice red color to it ;)

3) Eggplant
Eggplants are really popular for summer grilling but I've pretty much stayed away from them.  You can go ahead and give it a try to see how you handle them, but I still get really heavy nightshade symptoms from it.  They are rich in phenolic antioxidant compounds, contains nasunin which has been shown to protect brain cell membranes from damage, and it's delicious.  If you're enjoying grilled eggplants right now with no problems then I envy you :P  Grilled eggplant brown rice sushi sounds pretty amazing right now.

4) Cucumber
The most cooling thing you can eat for summer.  Development of new anti-cancer drugs are currently looking into the use of cucumbers because of cucurbitacins A, B, C, D, and E all found in fresh cucumber.  It also has fighting power against cardiovascular disease because it contains lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secoisolariciresinol.  I use sliced cucumbers in my salad, pickle them in some ume and brown rice vinegar, add it to brown rice stir fries, and of course make brown rice cucumber sushi.  Heck, use cucumber slices on your eyes while sun bathing!

5) Summer squash
These are one of the primary sources of beta-carotene and alpha-carotene, and one of the top three foods containing lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin (three other health-supportive carotenoids). I do prefer winter squashes over summer ones, but when steamed they are quite refreshing.  Toss them with some cold stir fried soba noodles or slice them really thin to make some raw pasta.  These taste pretty darn good sprinkled with ume vinegar.  


6) Melons
Probably the most popular melon for summer is watermelon.  They have a high concentration of lycopene which helps fight against cardiovascular disease.  It's a very refreshing dessert to have, especially when pureed and chilled.  But I gravitate more towards honeydew and cantaloupes because they're less sweet for my taste.  Fruit salads with sliced up melons is great!

7) Peppers
A huge source of vitamin C, vitamin E, and six carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin)!  Great in stir fries, wrapped in nori, and grilled.  I love munching on them raw, especially red bell peppers.  You can also pickle them too which I have yet to try but imagine would be quite beautiful in color.  

Remember that everyone is different so go ahead and try out which of these works well with you.  You may find that what didn't work earlier in the year now just clicks for you as the heat rises.  Have fun!

Summer Lunch: Steamed beets, veggies, greens, almonds, and miso tahini sauce

Steamed golden and red beets, bok choy, carrots, kabocha squash, almonds, miso tahini sauce, toasted nori, raw garlic.

This is what I've been eating for lunch over summer besides some lighter salads.  I was inspired by my trip to San Francisco and decided to combine what I ate at Cafe Gratitude and Om Shan Tea into one dish.  Most of this dish is steamed for lighter summer cooking.  Here's the recipe for how I prepared this:

1) Soak 1/4 cup of almonds overnight in soy sauce/water--add about 1/2-1 tsp soy sauce to water.  Next day, put soaked almonds on a tray and place under the broiler for about 3-5 mins (be sure to constantly check so it does not burn).  Remove from oven and let cool.
2) Chop 1 red beet, 1 golden beet, slice of kabocha squash, and carrot into 1 inch chunks and steam for 8-10mins or until soft.  Add on top bok choy and steam for additional 3 mins.
3) For the dressing, dilute 1/4 tsp of hato mugi miso in 1 tsp water.  Add 1-2 tsp of tahini.  Depending on your preference, you can dilute or add more tahini.
4) Scoop brown rice into dish, place veggies and almonds on top of rice, top with toasted nori strips, dressing, and chopped fresh garlic.

This dish can be eaten warm or cold and the brown rice can be replaced with lighter grains like quinoa or fresh salad greens.