HEALTHY SUMMER TEATS - JULY 2019 - VOLUME 11, ISSUE 4

Ramila's Health Tips
 

Volume 11, Issue 4

July 2019

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I hope you're enjoying the warm summer weather! To increase your enjoyment, I thought you might like to try a few healthy summer treats that take advantage of the fresh fruits available now. In keeping with my new Fasting Decoded program, I am focusing on foods that are consistent with a keto diet, i.e. they are low in carbs, can be high in fat and also moderate in protein. The goal is to become a more efficient fat burner (as opposed to carbohydrate burner). Read on below...

These newsletters will help you make better choices for better health. The choices that you make today can either have a positive or negative impact on your overall health. Begin by choosing better as it is a step towards longevity.

Ramila Padiachy DNM

Doctor of Natural Medicine

Ramila

Healthy Summer Treats

What makes a treat healthy?

It's probably easier to think in terms of what a healthy treat should not contain - added sugars definitely top the list. Of course, we all like to indulge once in a while, but we need to be mindful of the risks involved and not overdo it.

Avoid added sugars. Added sugars are associated with numerous health problems:

  • Sugar causes glucose levels to spike and plummet. Unstable blood sugar can result in mood swings, fatigue and headaches. It also contributes to cravings, whereas those who avoid sugar report having fewer cravings while feeling more emotionally balanced and energized.
  • Sugar is a leading cause of obesity in both children and adults. Obesity, in turn, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, several types of cancer, and several other diseases and disabilities.
  • Sugar can cause insulin resistance, which is a first step toward metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
  • Added sugar, and especially HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is, as the name tells you, high in fructose, and can overload your liver. The liver will convert it to fat.
  • Too much fructose can cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
  • Fructose raises your cholesterol and triglyceride levels
  • Sugar is bad for your teeth and can cause gum disease. I'm sure you're aware of the effect of sugar on your teeth and know the importance of brushing your teeth at least twice a day. More recently, there is increasing evidence that chronic gum infections play a role in the development of heart disease. Inflammation resulting from gum infections doesn't just stay in the mouth but enters the circulatory system.
  • Sugar accelerates aging. Sugar in your bloodstream attaches to proteins. The mix of these proteins with sugar causes the skin to lose elasticity and leads to premature wrinkles and sagging.
  • Your immune function can be adversely affected by sugar. Studies have shown that sugar can interfere with the way your body fights disease. Bacteria and yeast feed on sugar, so excess glucose in the body causes these organisms to build up and cause infections.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends restricting added sugars to 5% of our daily calories. For the average person, this would be about 6-7 teaspoons of sugar per day. To put that in perspective, a can of Coke has 10 teaspoons of sugar. WHO concedes that 5% might be unreasonable for many people, but they emphasize that the dietary intake of sugar definitely should not exceed 10%.

Recipes for Healthy Summer Treats

Berry Cashew Cream No Bake Bars

Servings 16 bars

Ingredients:

For the crust:

  • 2/3 cup roasted cashews * 93g
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped dates loosely packed (70g)

For the layers:

  • 2 cups roasted cashews soaked in water overnight (250g)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/4 cup honey agave for vegan version
  • 1 tsp raw vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup strawberries roughly chopped (140g)
  • 1/2 cup blueberries 70g

Directions:

  1. Place the cashews (for the crust) into a large food processor and pulse until broken down and crumble. Add in the dates and pulse until combined and the mixture begins to form a crumbly dough.
  2. Press the crust firmly into the bottom of a parchment lined 8x8" pan. You need to press it very thin, so really use your muscle and work it in there. Place into the freezer while you make the cream.
  3. Drain the soaked cashews and place them, along with the almond milk, honey, vanilla and a pinch of salt, into a large, high-powered blender.
  4. Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as necessary. Transfer to a large liquid measuring cup. You should have 2 cups of cream.
  5. Place 1/2 cup of the cream into a SMALL food processor (3 cups is ideal) along with the strawberries. ** Blend until smooth and creamy.
  6. Scrape the cream over the crust and spread out evenly. Place into the refrigerator just until the top feels set, about 45 minutes to an hour.
  7. Spread 1 Cup of the cashew cream on top of the strawberry layer and place back into the freezer until the top feels set, another 45 minutes to an hour.
  8. Finally, place the remaining 1/2 cup of cashew cream into the small food processor with the blueberries *** and blend until smooth and creamy.
  9. Spread the final layer on top and freeze until completely firm and set, about 3 hours to overnight.
  10. Once frozen, remove from the pan, slice into squares and DEVOUR.

Recipe notes:

* You can buy cashews that are pre-roasted. If you can't find these, bake them in a 350F oven for 5-10 minutes until lightly golden brown. Do this for both the crust and the cream layers, and before you soak the cashews from the cream overnight.

**The author of this recipe tried to do this in a blender, but it was too small a batch to get creamy.

*** Do not make the fruit layers in advance as the pectin in the fruit causes the cashew to gel. Make them just as you are ready to spread them.

 

Nutella Strawberry Parfait with Coconut Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of sliced strawberries
  • 4 tablespoons of Nutella, melted

Coconut whipped cream:

  • 13.5 oz can of full fat coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • Optional garnish: chopped hazelnuts, shaved chocolate, fresh mint.

Directions:

  1. Place can of coconut milk in refrigerator overnight.
  2. The next day gently remove can from refrigerator so as not to mix the cream and milk.
  3. Place a medium glass bowl in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes prior to making whipped cream to chill.
  4. Gently scoop the cream portion out of the can and place in a chilled glass bowl.
  5. Add honey and vanilla extract to coconut milk. Using a hand mixer, beat the milk on high until it has soft peaks. About 2-3 minutes.
  6. Place back in refrigerator.
  7. To 4 medium serving bowls, add 1 cup of strawberries. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of Nutella. Finish with a dollop of coconut whipped cream.
  8. Optional: garnish with chopped hazelnuts and shaved chocolate.

For super-simple summer desserts, you can serve fresh fruit, e.g. berries, and add a topping of whipped cream (coconut as described above, or made from half a pint of organic whipping cream - just whip the cream and add a dash of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of sugar).

Please see our newsletter of July 2016 for more delicious summer recipes.

I hope you enjoy these recipes and wish you a great rest of the summer.

Supplements

There are a number of supplements that would help you to maximize your health. You can find information about these products and purchase them in our online store:

  • Aloe Vera Gel
  • HistaBlock
  • Tea Tree Oil
Berberine IR

References

  1. 10 reasons why sugar is bad for your health. atkins.com/how-it-works/library/articles/10-ways-sugar-harms-your-health Accessed July 3, 2019.
  2. Simple, healthy, delicious summer treats. Newsletter Volume 8, Issue 4, July 2016. ramilas.com/news/2016/7/28/simple-healthy-delicious-summer-treats-july-2016-volume-8-issue-4 Accessed July 3, 2019.
  3. Lower sugar intake to less than 5% of daily calories, WHO says. CBC News, March 5, 2014. cbc.ca/news/health/lower-sugar-intake-to-less-than-5-of-daily-calories-who-says-1.2560639 Accessed July 4, 2019.
  4. Berry cashew cream no bake bars. foodfaithfitness.com/berry-cashew-cream-no-bake-bars/#wprm-recipe-container-22165 Accessed July 4, 2019.
  5. Nutella strawberry parfait with coconut whipped cream. joyfulhealthyeats.com/nutella-strawberry-parfait-with-coconut-whipped-cream/ Accessed July 4, 2019.

Disclaimer: The suggestions and recommendations in this newsletter are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic. The information is accurate and up to date to our knowledge, but we are not responsible for any errors in our sources of information.

For additional information, please email info@ramilas.com or call Ramilas Healing Arts Clinic at 613.829.0427 for an appointment. Please continue letting friends and family know about this newsletter. Also, on our website, please see back issues of this newsletter, information about services, products and our clinic, and order products.

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Healthy Summer Treats

Why buy processed, sugar filled treats for your kids when you can have fun in the kitchen together making homemade healthy versions. 

Here are the recipes for the treats Ramila talked about today June 27, 2016 on Ottawa CTV Morning Live

Healthy Summer Treat Recipes

- all homemade, without preservatives, or food colourings.

 

POPSICLES

1. FRUIT POPS
- blend kiwi and pour into popsicle mould 1/3 way up, freeze for 30mins, 
- then blend strawberries and fill 1/3 way up freeze again, 
- then blend mango and fill final 1/3 of mould. Freeze and enjoy

2. CREAMSICLE
- mix 1 scoop TNT formula (available at our clinic) in 60ml of water and 60 ml of pure mango juice. 
- pour into popsicle mould, freeze and enjoy

3.  FROZEN YOGURT POP
- mix 2 scoop of the TNT formula, with 60 ml of coconut milk and 60 ml of yogurt, shake to combine
- pour into popsicle mould, freeze and enjoy

4. BLUEBERRY FREEZY
- pour coconut water into mould and drop in a few blueberries, freeze and enjoy  

ICE CREAMS

1. CHOCO-BANANA ICE CREAM
- 2 frozen bananas
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp raw cocoa powder
Optional: 1/2 cup of greek yogurt

Blend together, freeze and enjoy

2. PINA COLADA ICE CREAM
- 2 cups frozen pineapple
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 4 tbsp shredded coconut
Optional: 1 scoop protein powder

PUDDING

1. CHOCOLATE AVOCADO PUDDING
- 1 medium avocado
- 1/2 cup almond or coconut milk
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp raw cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- pinch of cinnamon
- blend together, chill and enjoy 

FRUIT SKEWERS

- fruit of choice to make skewers, cut into equal sized pieces to fit on bamboo skewers evenly
- can use the chocolate avocado pudding as a dip for these

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Summer’s here, the days are long. It’s warm and sunny – most of the time! Everything’s green; this is the season that we get great fresh fruit and vegetables that are locally grown. It’s a wonderful time of year. With the long sunny days, we need to think about protecting our eyesight and making sure it stays good as we age. I’m sure you know that you should wear sunglasses with UVA and UVB protection, and never look directly at the sun. But there are many other things we can do to prevent loss of vision.
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