Natural Vision Improvement

Ah, finally it’s lunchtime.  Don’t you love the feeling when the work day is half over and you can take a break, have a tasty meal, take in some air and perhaps have a chat, a walk or a read to give your mind a break from the job? When we are working hard and are busy it can be so easy to fall into the trap of tasty and fast lunches, and unfortunately it can be expensive too.  Not just on your wallet, but on your body.  For those who eat lunch away from home it can be a challenge to provide ourselves with truly healthy meals.  But over the years our bodies will show the accumulation of too many poor lunches, particularly for those who spend most of the day sitting.  

Many of the recipes I am offering can be great work and school lunches with just a little planning.  They can be prepared the night before and/or quite quickly in the morning, can travel well, and provide both taste and nutrition to last you through the afternoon.  Remember it’s what we do most of the time that matters.  Save your favorite unhealthy or too heavy lunch for the special days, and create a new habit around regularly nurturing your body with your vital midday meal. It doesn’t mean giving up on yummy lunches!

For those who need to buy their lunch each day, there are so many healthy options becoming more available.  Check out all the cafes near you to find the ones that offer foods similar to those described here, and you won’t go wrong.
 
At 12 noon the body changes over from the elimination phase into a more active utilization phase. It is ready to intake and process nutrients and energy providers. A nourishing meal is very important at this time, to provide fuel for the ongoing day. However if you find yourself sleepy or sluggish in the afternoon, an overdose of starchy/sugary foods in your lunch may be the culprit.  The afternoon can be a time of great energy, providing that we don’t weigh the body down with heavy foods requiring that large amounts of energy are needed for digestion rather than activity.

Lay the foundation of your lunch with vegetables.  This is especially important where breakfast consisted of sweet foods, such as fruit or sprouted muesli.  This includes toast or other starch/sugar foods. Even if you had a protein breakfast, unless it was accompanied by lots of vegetables your body is now really ready for nutrients. 
If you find yourself getting headachy or crabby in the afternoon, this could be a symptom of a lunch with insufficient vitamins and enzymes from vegetables. It may also be a symptom of low blood sugar, which is best addressed not with sweets and simple carbohydrates (processed), but with protein foods or complex carbohydrates (whole foods).

If you are seeking to lose weight then a bowl of salad or steamed vegetables accompanied by either a vegetable protein (sprouted nuts or brown rice) or animal protein (fish or chicken) is filling, provides energy for hours, and does not add fat to the body. In fact some of these foods help the body eliminate fat.

If you are physically active or find yourself needing a top up in the mid-afternoon, then adding a complex carbohydrate to your meal is good, and cooked or sprouted brown rice is your best regular option. 

Many of us overdose on bread, especially with wheat.  It is so convenient and provides a foundation for so many kinds of meals. However the benefits of bread are few and the potential problems many.  Intolerance to bread and its components are becoming epidemic and yet many people suffer symptoms of bread overdose without having the information to make the connection.  The grains, the yeast and the processing all contribute to a food that often creates indigestion, skin problems, fatigue, overweight and many other symptoms.  You could be amazed at the change if you have a go at ditching the bread and other flour based foods in favour of brown rice. To assist you with this process I have included a bonus recipe for Rice Pie Crust.  Fill it with your favourite vegetable or fruit pie fillings and enjoy!

If bread is a real requirement for your lifestyle, experiment with other grains, such as spelt and rye.  Check your health food store for a great variety of alternative grain and gluten free breads. Again try to keep bread for special occasions and treats, rather than as a staple.

A few other reasons to make brown rice a foundation food in your diet:
 
• 75% of the daily diet should be based on alkaline forming foods. Rice is one of the few alkaline grains.
• Even though rice is termed a carbohydrate food, in comparison to meat, rice has a better level of available protein.
• Brown rice acts as an ideal protein improver for a wide variety of legumes, making it a valuable addition to a vegetarian diet. 
• Brown rice contains biotin, which assists in preventing obesity, baldness, fatigue and depression.
• Brown rice combines very well with nearly all fruits and vegetables.
Remember to use whole grain brown rice, not white. B Vitamins are essential for a healthy nervous system. When refined into white, rice loses the majority of these and it’s other vitamin and mineral content compared to wholegrain (brown).

Rice polishings provide the largest quantity per gram of the nutrients contained in rice, being protein, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, Vitamin B1, B2 and B3.
 
Sprouted brown rice will offer the next highest levels of these nutrients with the added benefits of enzymes. 

The quickest and easiest method of preparation is steaming brown rice, and this method retains a majority of nutrients. 

Both sprouted and steamed rice can be kept in the fridge and used for up to 3 days. 
(Sprouted rice will require rinsing once per day when refrigerated.) This means it’s so easy to prepare rice and use it for quick and easy breakfasts and lunches, by making it hot and fluffy for an evening meal then using leftovers for porridge and nori rolls.

Sprouted Rice
This works best with a large glass jar with screening held in place over the mouth with a rubber band.  It can also be done with a bowl, colander and cloth to cover between rinses. 
Take ½ cup of (organic) brown rice.  Place in 3 to 4 cups good drinking water.  Soak for 6 to 12 hours, drain and rinse. Keep in a cool spot out of direct sunlight. Allow the sprouts to develop for 5 days, rinsing 3 times each day.  Test to see if the rice is easily chewed.  If not continue for one more day.  You can now utilize this rice in recipes, use as a side dish or just eat by the spoonful. When ready to eat, replace the screen with an airtight lid and store in the fridge for up to 3 days, rinsing once per day.

Other grains can also be prepared in this way.  I suggest trying both organic wheat and barley for a tasty treat! (Really!)

Steamed Rice
Standard serve = ½ cup uncooked brown rice per person. Use twice the amount of water as you are using of rice.

Easy Brown Rice - serves 4:
Take 2 cups (organic) brown rice.  Place in pot with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer with lid on until cooked, about 35 minutes.  All water should be absorbed.

Extra Fluffy Brown Rice
Take your desired quantity of rice as above and soak in good drinking water through the day. Drain and place rice in correct quantity of water as above.  Cook at extremely low heat for 45 minutes.
Lunch Recipes

Garden Salad with Yum Accessories
Start with your salad foundation of the fresh salad vegetables in season.  Go for between 4 and 8 vegetables in your salad. Of course I feel that it’s important to eat fresh produce as organic as possible for more nutrients and no toxins.

The Basics:
• Lettuce or other salad greens.  The greener the better, lots of variety is great.
• Grated or shaved raw carrot
• Grated or shaved raw beetroot
• Sliced cucumber
• Slivered or shaved red or white cabbage

A million options to mix and match include:
• Sliced capsicum
• Tomato
• Grated raw zucchini
• Grated raw sweet pototo (fine grating is best)
• Sprouts – single or variety (alfalfa, mung, bean shoots, sunflower shoots etc)
• Soaked nuts and seeds (sunflower, pepita, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts)
• Any other vegetables you can enjoy raw!

Need more protein:
• Add boiled egg (do not overcook),
• fresh or canned fish such as tuna or salmon. 

Dressings and Condiments:
Add just one or two of the following.
• Sunflower seeds/Pepitas lightly toasted in pan then sprinkled with a little soy sauce
• Sun or semi dried tomatoes
• Artichoke hearts
• Olives
• Salad dressing; balsamic vinegrette, lemon & honey dressing, olive oil or other.

If buying salad dressings, avoid dressings that are labeled ‘low fat’ as the oils used are often very poor. Read the ingredients and reject those with artificial colours, flavours or other artificial additives. Best is to make your own dressings with cold-pressed organic oils, gently stirred with the other ingredients.

The healthiest and lightest:
Drizzle your salad with organic cold-pressed linseed or olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

Yummy and easy:
Mix about ¼ tsp. of mustard with about 2 tblsp. balsalmic vinegar.  Mix in 2 – 3 tablespoons good oil and toss salad through.

When I don’t have time to make my own I often use Paul Newman’s Italian.

Brown Rice Nori Rolls

1 sheet nori (flat toasted seaweed) per person
Cooked brown rice (1/2 to 3/4 cup per nori sheet)
Avocado slices
Cucumber sticks
Soy sauce

For more protein choose one of the following: 
Marinated tofu
Gently scrambled & sliced Egg
Tuna fish (canned)

These can definitely be rolled by hand but it lacks the pleasing symmetry and tightness obtained by using a bamboo rolling sheet.

Place one nori sheet rough side up on your bamboo roller or cutting board.  With a wooden paddle or a rubber spatula, spread the rice evenly over the ½ to ¾ of the nori sheet closest to you.  Place between 1 and 3 ingredients from above in a horizontal row in the middle of the rice.  Lift the edge of the nori closest to you and begin to roll it away from you, doing your best to keep the ingredients in their place as they are enclosed.  Fully roll, and seal the edge with a little water. Set aside for a minute or two to rest then cut into slices with a sharp, wet knife.  Serve with soy sauce in a dipping bowl. Also popular with this is a little wasabi (Japanese horseradish) dissolved into the soy sauce, and gari (pickled ginger) to nibble with the rolls.  (The commonly available of these have artificial colours in them, but more and more they can be found without.)

My kids and their friends love to eat nori sheets on their own, tearing them into strips. The savory version of fruit leather! I encourage them in this as seaweed contains many important minerals often missing in our diets, which are vital to health and development.

Marinated tofu:
Take a block of firm tofu and slice into long sticks of about 1 ½ cm (½ inch) width.  Place about 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce, mirin (or honey) in 1 ½ to 2 cups water.  (Optional add a little chopped fresh ginger.) Place seasoned water and tofu in an airtight container, preferably fitting well.  Use as needed for up to 4 days (make sure it’s all submerged).
This same method can be used to prepare tofu for the BBQ, grill or pan, but slice into slabs rather than sticks. Adjust flavour to taste.  My kids love to eat the tofu sticks as they are after a little marinating, at any time of day!

Bonus Recipe:

Brown rice pie crust

2 cups cooked rice
2 egg whites
2 tblspn. finely chopped parsley
salt & white pepper to taste

Mix the rice, egg white and parsley together. Add salt and pepper. Use a straight-sided glass to push the mixture firmly into the base and sides of a greased 20cm (8 in) wide flan dish.  Cook in a preheated moderate oven (180 c, 350 c) for about 20 minutes until rice shell is set. 

To use for sweet recipes, eliminate salt and pepper and substitute almond meal or similar for parsley.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 13th, 2007 at 1:02 am and is filed under Vision Improvement Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.