My parents came to visit this weekend and as usual they graciously brought me a medley of fresh vegetables from their garden. This summers harvest yielded onion, garlic, tomato, zucchini, basil, parsley, bell pepper, chili and eggplant. Yesterday I got to chopping and cooking most of these all up in a zesty and delicious Ratatouille! It was truly an organic cooking experiment with no measuring or recipe-reading involved, I simply threw all my veggies into a large pot and voila! The parsley added a nice flavor and it turned out rather nicely for my first attempt.
And because I am a total nerd, I will leave you all with some interesting facts about Parsley:
From WHFoods.org:
Parsley's volatile oils-particularly myristicin-have been shown to inhibit tumor formation in animal studies, and particularly, tumor formation in the lungs. Myristicin has also been shown to activate the enzyme glutathione-S-transferase, which helps attach the molecule glutathione to oxidized molecules that would otherwise do damage in the body. The activity of parsley's volatile oils qualifies it as a "chemoprotective" food, and in particular, a food that can help neutralize particular types of carcinogens (like the benzopyrenes that are part of cigarette smoke and charcoal grill smoke).
The flavonoids in parsley-especially luteolin-have been shown to function as antioxidants that combine with highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules (called oxygen radicals) and help prevent oxygen-based damage to cells. In addition, extracts from parsley have been used in animal studies to help increase the antioxidant capacity of the blood.
In addition to its volatile oils and flavonoids, parsley is an excellent source of two vital nutrients that are also important for the prevention of many diseases: vitamin C and vitamin A (notably through its concentration of the pro-vitamin A carotenoid, beta-carotene).
Yesterday's Meals
8:15 AM
3 Eggs w/ spinach, onions, salsa
Lg. Americano w/ Cream (fat source)
11:00AM
6 Almonds
2:15 PM
3oz Pastrami
Broccoli Slaw w/ hummus and celery
1 Apple
5:30 PM
2oz Chicken
½ cup blueberries
1/3 cup coconut milk
8:30 PM
1.5oz grass-fed Beef
1 cup home-made Ratatouille w/ cheese
6 walnuts
3 Eggs w/ spinach, onions, salsa
Lg. Americano w/ Cream (fat source)
11:00AM
6 Almonds
2:15 PM
3oz Pastrami
Broccoli Slaw w/ hummus and celery
1 Apple
5:30 PM
2oz Chicken
½ cup blueberries
1/3 cup coconut milk
8:30 PM
1.5oz grass-fed Beef
1 cup home-made Ratatouille w/ cheese
6 walnuts
2 comments:
That ratatouille is delicious, 'cita!
Vegetables? Don't you know how bad those things can be for you? Connie, we're going to have talk about your diet. You seem to be making several mistakes here which could be easily rectified. Firstly, if it came directly from the garden, don't eat it. We have food companies to process those borderline-toxic materials and convert them into safe, plastic-wrapped, food-like substances. Secondly, shop on the interior of the grocery store. The edges of the store tend to contain less processed foods. As we all know, processing food makes it better for you. Why else would the store contain so much of them? Lastly, and least surprisingly, think high-glycemic. Vegetables have too much fiber and not nearly enough sugar to be of value in a sports-performance focused diet. You are never going to increase your fasted insulin score by eating veggies.
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