2 cups broccoli
2 TBS oil
1 onion minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
2 cups chickpeas
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 cup silken tofu, drained
1/4 cup soy milk
2 TBS lemon juice
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 lb pasta, cooked and drained
Steam broccoli about 5 min and run under cold water to stop cooking and set aside. Cook onion in either oil or water. Add garlic, ginger and curry powder and cook 2 minutes longer stirring occasionally. Add the chick-peas and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in stock and bring to a boil, cooking until liquid is reduced in half. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine the tofu, soy milk, lemon juice, salt and cayenne until well blended. Slowly whisk into the chick-pea mixture. Add the broccoli and stir to combine. Toss the hot cooked pasta with the chick-pea sauce in a serving bowl and serve.
You may even add chopped spinach for added nutrition.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Vegan Eggplant Parmesan
Vegan Recipes - Entrees
Baked Eggplant
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
1/2 cut minced Onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 jar Mur Glen Spaghetti Sauce
1 TBS basil
salt and pepper
1 1/2 lbs eggplant
1 cup bread crumbs
2 cups tofu drained and crumbled
2 TBS minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup soy Parmesan or mozzarella (optional)
Preheat the broiler. Heat 1 TBS of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add sauce, basil, salt and pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
Slice the eggplant very thinly. Dip the slices into rice milk and coat with breadcrumbs. Place in broiler on baking sheet for about 2 minutes flipping once. Turn oven down to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine the tofu, parsley and salt and pepper. Mix well. Arrange half of the eggplant slices in a lightly oiled baking dish, top with half of the tofu mixture, and spread half of the tomato sauce on the tofu mixture. Repeat the layers.
Directions: Slice one of the eggplants and use it to cover completely the bottom of an oiled baking dish. Sprinkle it with salt. Mix the bread crumbs with the sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle a little of the bread crumb mixture over the eggplant in the baking dish. For the filling, put all the vegetables in a medium-sized bowl and mix with all the seasonings, plus the olives and some of the bread crumbs, reserving about 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs to use them later. Spread this mixture on top of the sliced eggplant. Slice the other eggplant and use to cover the filling.
Sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs over the top layer of eggplant. Blend the cashews and soy milk together in a blender. Add salt to taste. Pour into the baking dish, covering the top layer of eggplant. Bake at 375º F about 30 minutes or until it makes a crust.
Baked Eggplant
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
1/2 cut minced Onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 jar Mur Glen Spaghetti Sauce
1 TBS basil
salt and pepper
1 1/2 lbs eggplant
1 cup bread crumbs
2 cups tofu drained and crumbled
2 TBS minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup soy Parmesan or mozzarella (optional)
Preheat the broiler. Heat 1 TBS of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add sauce, basil, salt and pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
Slice the eggplant very thinly. Dip the slices into rice milk and coat with breadcrumbs. Place in broiler on baking sheet for about 2 minutes flipping once. Turn oven down to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine the tofu, parsley and salt and pepper. Mix well. Arrange half of the eggplant slices in a lightly oiled baking dish, top with half of the tofu mixture, and spread half of the tomato sauce on the tofu mixture. Repeat the layers.
Directions: Slice one of the eggplants and use it to cover completely the bottom of an oiled baking dish. Sprinkle it with salt. Mix the bread crumbs with the sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle a little of the bread crumb mixture over the eggplant in the baking dish. For the filling, put all the vegetables in a medium-sized bowl and mix with all the seasonings, plus the olives and some of the bread crumbs, reserving about 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs to use them later. Spread this mixture on top of the sliced eggplant. Slice the other eggplant and use to cover the filling.
Sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs over the top layer of eggplant. Blend the cashews and soy milk together in a blender. Add salt to taste. Pour into the baking dish, covering the top layer of eggplant. Bake at 375º F about 30 minutes or until it makes a crust.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Pasteli
Thanks Nancy, this recipe looks great! I haven't tried it yet.
Pasteli: Sesame Honey Candy
By Nancy Gaifyllia, About.com http://greekfood.about.com/od/candy/r/softses_pasteli.htm
See More About:
candy recipes
ancient greek recipes
cooking with sesame seeds
Pasteli: Sugar-Free Sesame Honey Candy
In Greek: παστέλι, pronounced pah-STEH-lee
The version of pasteli most commonly sold at the market is generally very hard. It's the sugar in the recipe that makes it hard. This classic version is sugar-free and creates a chewy texture with the fabulous tastes of sesame seeds and honey.
Tip: The quality and taste of the honey will have an effect on the final product. Try this recipe with organic honey of your preference (thyme, wildflower, fir, pine, chestnut, etc.).
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups of honey
3 cups of hulled white sesame seeds
1 strip of lemon peel (about 1/4 x 1 inch) (optional, see note)
Preparation:
Note: If desired, add the lemon peel to give the pasteli a light hint of lemon.
In a saucepan, bring honey and lemon peel to a boil. Add sesame seeds stirring continuously and continue to cook while stirring to mix completely and thoroughly. When the seeds are fully mixed in and the mixture has boiled again, remove from heat. Remove and discard lemon peel.
Spread a piece of baking parchment on a cool work surface and spread out the hot mixture thinly and evenly, on the paper (about 1/4 inch high).
When the pasteli cools to room temperature, refrigerate, as is, on the parchment paper (it doesn't need to be covered). Chill for at least 2-3 hours.
With a kitchen shears, cut the pasteli into small pieces, together with the parchment paper on the bottom, and serve.
To eat, peel off the parchment paper.
Store in the refrigerator.
Serving suggestions: Pasteli can be eaten as a candy at any time, as an energy booster, and it goes wonderfully well as an accompaniment to tea. Because it is very sweet, cut in small pieces. Those with a sweet tooth can always select several!
To increase or decrease quantity: The recipe calls for equal parts by weight of sesame seeds and honey.
1 pound of honey (16 ounces) = approximately 1 1/3 cups
1 pound of sesame seeds = approximately 3 cups
Note about sesame seeds: Sesame seeds can be quite expensive, especially when purchased in small quantities. Look for sources to buy in bulk.
Pasteli: Sesame Honey Candy
By Nancy Gaifyllia, About.com http://greekfood.about.com/od/candy/r/softses_pasteli.htm
See More About:
candy recipes
ancient greek recipes
cooking with sesame seeds
Pasteli: Sugar-Free Sesame Honey Candy
In Greek: παστέλι, pronounced pah-STEH-lee
The version of pasteli most commonly sold at the market is generally very hard. It's the sugar in the recipe that makes it hard. This classic version is sugar-free and creates a chewy texture with the fabulous tastes of sesame seeds and honey.
Tip: The quality and taste of the honey will have an effect on the final product. Try this recipe with organic honey of your preference (thyme, wildflower, fir, pine, chestnut, etc.).
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups of honey
3 cups of hulled white sesame seeds
1 strip of lemon peel (about 1/4 x 1 inch) (optional, see note)
Preparation:
Note: If desired, add the lemon peel to give the pasteli a light hint of lemon.
In a saucepan, bring honey and lemon peel to a boil. Add sesame seeds stirring continuously and continue to cook while stirring to mix completely and thoroughly. When the seeds are fully mixed in and the mixture has boiled again, remove from heat. Remove and discard lemon peel.
Spread a piece of baking parchment on a cool work surface and spread out the hot mixture thinly and evenly, on the paper (about 1/4 inch high).
When the pasteli cools to room temperature, refrigerate, as is, on the parchment paper (it doesn't need to be covered). Chill for at least 2-3 hours.
With a kitchen shears, cut the pasteli into small pieces, together with the parchment paper on the bottom, and serve.
To eat, peel off the parchment paper.
Store in the refrigerator.
Serving suggestions: Pasteli can be eaten as a candy at any time, as an energy booster, and it goes wonderfully well as an accompaniment to tea. Because it is very sweet, cut in small pieces. Those with a sweet tooth can always select several!
To increase or decrease quantity: The recipe calls for equal parts by weight of sesame seeds and honey.
1 pound of honey (16 ounces) = approximately 1 1/3 cups
1 pound of sesame seeds = approximately 3 cups
Note about sesame seeds: Sesame seeds can be quite expensive, especially when purchased in small quantities. Look for sources to buy in bulk.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Vegan Pumpkin Pie
This is a GREAT website!!! She has tons of recipes! This is where I got the pumpkin pie recipe from...this turned out great, however, I maybe try an easier one next--or one without oil and/or sugar. Stay tuned.....
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch glass pie plate. (Or not--I didn't)
In a food processor bowl add: (blender and worked fine)
1 14 or 15-oz can pumpkin
1 1/2 cups plain hemp milk
2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla (regular works fine)
2 tablespoons light olive oil
1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer ( 2 TBS of flax seeds ground in coffee grinder is replacement)
3/4 cup organic brown sugar
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons tapioca starch/flour (I put 2 TBS of tapioca pudding in coffee grinder and added)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (I used Arrowroot--but you may not even need w/ tapioca)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon or pie spice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Cover and process until smooth and creamy. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl, if necessary to incorporate all of the dry ingredients. Pour into the prepared pie plate and smooth evenly.
Bake in the center of a preheated oven for about an hour until done. The pie should be firm- but still give a little when lightly touched. The center should not be wet. It will fall a bit as it cools, like my Flour less Chocolate Cake recipe. Cool the pie on a wire rack completely. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until serving.
Makes 8 slices.
You can make this pie without a crust or with. It's not Gluten Free with a crust though. I put this pie in a Grape Nut's crust.
You just pour some grape nuts with enough Honey and/or Maple Syrup to make it sticky. Freeze, and pour pie into frozen crust. This allows you to pour the pie in without the cereal mixing into it. Bake until firm on 350.
Heart Healthy Scalloped Potatoes
Here it is everyone--I got this recipe from FatFreeVegan.com and it ROCKS!!!!
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (I used 8 medium)
water, to cover
Paprika or white pepper
Salt (optional)
Sauce ingredients:
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup plain soymilk (I used Rice Milk--and it was great!)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or fresh garlic is even better--I used 2 or 3 cloves in garlic press)
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons raw cashew butter (tahini works just as well)
1 teaspoon white miso
Place a large pot, half-filled with water, to boil while you prepare the potatoes. Using a mandolin, food processor, or a very steady hand, slice the scrubbed potatoes into 1/4-inch thick slices. They need to be a uniform size, so a mandolin is preferred.
When the water is boiling, add the potato slices and make sure they are covered with water. If not, add just enough to cover. Boil for 5-8 minutes, just until barely tender. Be very careful--they go from raw to falling apart in seconds. You do not want them to fall apart!
As soon as the potatoes are tender, remove them from the heat, pour them into a colander to remove the water, and rinse them with cold water.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Prepare the sauce by blending the sauce ingredients together, either in a blender or with a hand blender, until smooth.Place the potato slices into an oiled casserole dish one layer at a time. Sprinkle each layer with a little salt and paprika or white pepper before adding the next layer. Stir the sauce, and pour it over all the potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes, or until sauce has thickened throughout. Serve warm. (OR INSTEAD OF PUTTING IN THE OVEN, PUT IN SLOW COOKER FOR 4 HRS, I had to pour out the liquid and thicken it on the stove and pour back in; it was soooooo good!)
This sauce was so great, you could use it as a Vegan Alfredo sauce also. I can't say enough about it!!!
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (I used 8 medium)
water, to cover
Paprika or white pepper
Salt (optional)
Sauce ingredients:
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup plain soymilk (I used Rice Milk--and it was great!)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or fresh garlic is even better--I used 2 or 3 cloves in garlic press)
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons raw cashew butter (tahini works just as well)
1 teaspoon white miso
Place a large pot, half-filled with water, to boil while you prepare the potatoes. Using a mandolin, food processor, or a very steady hand, slice the scrubbed potatoes into 1/4-inch thick slices. They need to be a uniform size, so a mandolin is preferred.
When the water is boiling, add the potato slices and make sure they are covered with water. If not, add just enough to cover. Boil for 5-8 minutes, just until barely tender. Be very careful--they go from raw to falling apart in seconds. You do not want them to fall apart!
As soon as the potatoes are tender, remove them from the heat, pour them into a colander to remove the water, and rinse them with cold water.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Prepare the sauce by blending the sauce ingredients together, either in a blender or with a hand blender, until smooth.Place the potato slices into an oiled casserole dish one layer at a time. Sprinkle each layer with a little salt and paprika or white pepper before adding the next layer. Stir the sauce, and pour it over all the potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes, or until sauce has thickened throughout. Serve warm. (OR INSTEAD OF PUTTING IN THE OVEN, PUT IN SLOW COOKER FOR 4 HRS, I had to pour out the liquid and thicken it on the stove and pour back in; it was soooooo good!)
This sauce was so great, you could use it as a Vegan Alfredo sauce also. I can't say enough about it!!!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Everything you need to know about feeding babies and toddlers
http://vegfamily.com/babies-and-toddlers/index.htm
Vegan Babies and ToddlersFrom breastfeeding to solids, and "ga-ga" to "Mommy, why does grandma eat animals?" we've got you covered. And there's a lot to know and prepare for. How do you raise a healthy, vegan baby and toddler?
Articles
10 Things You Don't Need When You Have a Baby by Michelle Kennedy Hogan
A Born Free Baby by Mary Finch
Are Vaccines Really Safe and Effective? by Jock Doubleday
Aromatherapy for Babies: Essential Oil or Snake Oil? by Stacie Jacobs
Breastfeeding Beyond Infancy by Katharina Bishop
Breastfeeding Your Vegan Baby by Erin Pavlina
Dealing with Dairy Allergies by Lucy Watkins
Five Reasons to Wear Your Baby By Michelle Kennedy
From Bashful to Brazen: The Indiscreet Breastfeeder's Manifesto by Sundae Horn
Flax Seed Oil: Putting it to Good Use by Doh Driver
Helping Daycare Centers Care For Your Vegan Child: One Mother's Story by Linda Driscoll
Homemade Baby Food: A Fresh Start to Healthy Eating by Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers
Introducing Solids: Feeding vegan babies by Erin Pavlina
Is Cloth Diapering Right For You? by Brenda Stokes
Mama's Own: How To Make Your Own Vegan Baby Products by Katharina Bishop
My World of Wearing by Heather Ethriedge
Natural Baby, Toxic World by Brita Belli
Nanny Shares and Vegan Living by Heather Strofe
Nourishing Your Independent Toddler by Cathe Olson
One Mother at a Time by Mary Eileen Finch
Physicians Issue New Prescription: Most Moms Should Breastfeed for at Least a Year by Mary Ann Romans
Positive Protesting with Children by Caity McCardell
Starting Solids by Cathe Olson
The Battle to Ban Toxic Toys by Brita Belli
The Talk by Jennifer Alyah
Vegan Toddler Food Guide by Brenda Davis, R.D. and Vesanto Melina M.S., R.D.
Veganism and Circumcision by Jennifer L. Downing
Vegetarian Diets -- Position of ADA
Vegetarian to Vegan: 101 reasons not to feed your child dairy by Dr. Linda Folden Palmer
Wearing Your Baby: The Basics by Kristina Deppe
Weight Gain in Vegan Toddlers by Brenda Davis, R.D.
What's So Terrible About Being Two? by Gary Direnfeld, MSW
Vegan Babies and ToddlersFrom breastfeeding to solids, and "ga-ga" to "Mommy, why does grandma eat animals?" we've got you covered. And there's a lot to know and prepare for. How do you raise a healthy, vegan baby and toddler?
Articles
10 Things You Don't Need When You Have a Baby by Michelle Kennedy Hogan
A Born Free Baby by Mary Finch
Are Vaccines Really Safe and Effective? by Jock Doubleday
Aromatherapy for Babies: Essential Oil or Snake Oil? by Stacie Jacobs
Breastfeeding Beyond Infancy by Katharina Bishop
Breastfeeding Your Vegan Baby by Erin Pavlina
Dealing with Dairy Allergies by Lucy Watkins
Five Reasons to Wear Your Baby By Michelle Kennedy
From Bashful to Brazen: The Indiscreet Breastfeeder's Manifesto by Sundae Horn
Flax Seed Oil: Putting it to Good Use by Doh Driver
Helping Daycare Centers Care For Your Vegan Child: One Mother's Story by Linda Driscoll
Homemade Baby Food: A Fresh Start to Healthy Eating by Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers
Introducing Solids: Feeding vegan babies by Erin Pavlina
Is Cloth Diapering Right For You? by Brenda Stokes
Mama's Own: How To Make Your Own Vegan Baby Products by Katharina Bishop
My World of Wearing by Heather Ethriedge
Natural Baby, Toxic World by Brita Belli
Nanny Shares and Vegan Living by Heather Strofe
Nourishing Your Independent Toddler by Cathe Olson
One Mother at a Time by Mary Eileen Finch
Physicians Issue New Prescription: Most Moms Should Breastfeed for at Least a Year by Mary Ann Romans
Positive Protesting with Children by Caity McCardell
Starting Solids by Cathe Olson
The Battle to Ban Toxic Toys by Brita Belli
The Talk by Jennifer Alyah
Vegan Toddler Food Guide by Brenda Davis, R.D. and Vesanto Melina M.S., R.D.
Veganism and Circumcision by Jennifer L. Downing
Vegetarian Diets -- Position of ADA
Vegetarian to Vegan: 101 reasons not to feed your child dairy by Dr. Linda Folden Palmer
Wearing Your Baby: The Basics by Kristina Deppe
Weight Gain in Vegan Toddlers by Brenda Davis, R.D.
What's So Terrible About Being Two? by Gary Direnfeld, MSW
PLEASE READ!!!! and help your children before it's too late!!!
This is such amazing information!!! PLEASE READ!!!
http://www.drfuhrman.com/children/default.aspx
1-800-474-WELL (9355)
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Home > Children
Children's Health IssuesDisease-proof your child!
Spotlight on Children's Health Issues
This section is a preview of my latest book entitled Disease-Proof Your Child:
We are molded by our childhood
"When our son Elliot was three, we already had a sickly child. He was suffering from his seventh ear infection and had severe eczema since his first year of life. We had been to numerous specialists for his raw itchy skin and tried many medical treatments to no avail. My search for a better solution led me to Dr. Fuhrman. In only two months after changing Elliot’s diet his skin condition had disappeared. To our surprise he never suffered another ear infection. It is not merely Elliot’s recovery that has moved us to write to you, it is our enthusiasm and gratitude for the knowledge we have gained from you that has given us an incredible sense of freedom and control over our own and our children’s health."
Julie and Stuart Rayburn
As parents, we want what is best for our children. We would never intentionally harm them. In fact, we make sure to get them the best care we know, read to them at bedtime and insist they wear their seatbelts, but when it comes to children and food, somehow we don’t know what is the best thing to do. Our children seem finicky and only eat cheese, pasta, chicken fingers or milk and cookies. At the same time, we notice that they are frequently ill. They suffer from recurring ear infections, runny noses, stomachaches and headaches. We note their symptoms and haul them in to the doctor, who prescribes yet another round of antibiotics. All this is normal for children —right?
Wrong!This scenario may be “normal” for kids today, but it is not normal for humans or any other species of animal that eats nutrient-rich natural foods designed by nature for that particular species. Scientific research has demonstrated that humans have a powerful immune system, even stronger than other animals. Our bodies are self-repairing, self-defending organisms, which have the innate ability to defend themselves against microbes and prevent chronic illnesses. This can only happen if we give our bodies the correct raw materials. When we don’t supply the young body with its nutritional requirements, we see bizarre diseases occur. We even witness the increasing appearance of cancers that were unheard of in prior human history.
Despite our very best intentions, today there are dangers that well-meaning parents inflict on their children without even being aware of it. Certainly, people like you and me would never mean to do anything other than the best for our children, but every day in small ways, we may well be causing harm to their precious little bodies. How does this happen? Through the choices we make every day in what we decide to feed them.
There is an issue of vital importance that most well-meaning parents don’t know about. They don’t know because nobody has told them. The issue is this: the modern diet that most children are eating today creates a fertile cellular environment for cancer to emerge at a later age. Trying to prevent breast, prostate and other cancers as an adult may not be possible because most risk factors cannot be changed at this late stage. The bottom line is that in order to have a major impact, we must intervene much earlier, even as early as the first seven years of life. In other words, childhood diets create adult cancers. That’s right: when our children don’t eat fruits and vegetables and instead are fed junk food, the groundwork may be laid for cancer and other diseases down the road.
The science behind these surprising statements is addressed in my book, Disease Proof your Child. This website section will only touch the tip of the iceberg. However, worth noting is the following dismal fact: many children today are very often recurrently sick with ear infections, allergies, asthma and then, later in life, may develop autoimmune illnesses such as lupus, ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis. This is not because children just naturally pass around germs or have bad genes, but it is because their diets are inadequate. Antibiotics cannot prevent these problems. Only a diet of nutritional excellence can.
The most recent scientific evidence is both overwhelming and shocking. Apparently, what we feed or don’t feed our children during the growing years has a greater impact on the dietary contribution to cancers than does nutritional intake over the next 50 years. Today, it is known that both children of American descent and from developed countries consume less than 2% of their diet from natural plant foods such as fruits and vegetables. American children move into adulthood eating 90% of their calories from dairy products, white flour, sugar and oil. Amazingly, about 25% of toddlers between ages one and two eat no fruits and vegetables at all. By 15 months, French fries are the most common vegetable consumed in America! Have parents gone crazy?
This is shocking information, to be sure, but recent scientific evidence is just too powerful and compelling to ignore. Over the past two decades convincing evidence has emerged which links autoimmune illnesses, such as Crohn’s Disease, lupus and later-life cancers with precise dietary factors from the first ten years of life. This means that we now know what factors help to create an environment in our bodies which is favorable for cancers to surface later in life, and we understand the precise dietary factors that can prevent cancer in our child’s future. The worst part is that parents haven’t been informed that what their children eat in the first ten years of life has such a profound effect on their entire lives.
Autoimmune diseases, such as childhood onset diabetes, lupus, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease can develop as a result of feeding errors early in life and can cause more tragic health problems. Without the necessary knowledge, detailing the dietary style that can prevent later life cancers, many parents are unfortunately feeding their children dangerous, cancer-provoking diets.
My goal is to provide priceless information to parents, so they can give their children the greatest gift of all — the opportunity for a long and healthy life. We wouldn’t allow our children to sit around the table smoking cigars and drinking whiskey, because it is not socially acceptable; however, we don’t think twice about giving them cola, fries cooked in trans fat and cheeseburgers, regularly. Many children consume soft drinks, doughnuts, cookies, cupcakes and candy on a daily basis. It is difficult for parents to understand the insidious, slow destruction of their child’s genetic potential and the foundation for serious illness that is being built by the consumption of these foods. Most Americans don’t even contemplate that drinking soda, and eating chips, junk food and fast-food meals may be just as risky (or more so) than letting their children smoke cigarettes.
It would be unrealistic to feel optimistic about the health and well-being of the next generation when there is an unprecedented increase in the average weight of children in this country and record levels of childhood obesity. Most ominous were the results reported by the 1992 Bogalusa Heart Study, which studied autopsies performed on children killed in accidental deaths. The study confirmed the existence of fatty plaques and streaks (the beginning of atherosclerosis) in most children and teenagers!
For the majority of their lives, many American adults and children consume foods that are severely deficient in plant-derived nutrients. I have observed these nutrient levels in thousands of patients and have become shocked at the dismal levels in supposedly “healthy” people. Our bodies are not immune to immutable biological laws that govern cellular function. Given enough time, disease will develop. Even borderline deficiencies can result in various subtle defects in human health, leading to anxiety, autoimmune disorders, cancer and poor eyesight, just to name a few.
The Development of Breast Cancer – A Childhood Event
Carcinogenesis, the process that leads to cancer, is believed to occur in a series of steps. It is a multistage process that begins with pre-cancerous cellular damage that gradually proceeds to more malignant changes. The first step is the development of cellular abnormalities, which eventually leads to cancer. This usually occurs during adolescence or soon after puberty. Remember that unhealthful childhood nutritional practices cause excessive sex hormone production and early pathologic changes in the breast tissue that set the stage for cancer many years later.
Studies have shown that the arrival of puberty at an earlier age is a significant marker of increased risk. Furthermore, there is overwhelming evidence that ovarian hormones play a crucial role, in all stages, in the development of breast cancer. It is common knowledge among physicians that the earlier a woman matures, as measured by the age of her first menstrual period, the higher her risk for breast cancer. Both early menarche and greater body weight are markers of increased risk of breast cancer.
Ominously, the onset of menstruation has been occurring at a younger and younger age in Western societies during this century. For example, the average age in the United States is now about twelve years; however, according to the World Health Organization, the average age at which puberty began in 1840 was seventeen. In addition, during the same time period, there has been an increased consumption of fat, refined carbohydrates, cheese and meat, and there has been a huge decrease in the consumption of starchy plants, beans, fruit and nuts. A greater consumption of animal foods leads to a higher level of hormones related to early reproductive function and growth. These hormonal abnormalities persist into adulthood. Uterine fibroids (or tumors) also develop from a diet deficient in fruits and vegetables and heavy in cheese and meat. As the consumption of meat increases and vegetation decreases, one’s risk of fibroids increases proportionately.
Women are not the only sex affected. The same increased risk, as a result of early maturation, is seen with both prostate cancer and testicular cancer. If we grow and mature more rapidly, we increase our cancer risk and age faster. We see the same pattern in lab animals; if we feed them so they grow faster, they age rapidly, develop cancer and die younger.
In other words, the stage is set by our poor dietary habits early in life. Breast and prostate cancer are strongly affected by our dietary practices when we are young.
Fewer Animal Products, More Fruits and Vegetables
We have been indoctrinated since early childhood to believe that animal protein is a nutrient to be held in high esteem. We have been brought up with the idea that these foods are good for us if they help us grow bigger and faster. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The public, as well as the media, is confused about this issue. They continue to associate the term better nutrition with earlier maturity and larger stature resulting from our greater consumption of animal protein and animal fats. These unfavorable trends are repeatedly reported as positive events. For example, earlier writers and nutritionists have mistakenly equated rapid growth with health. Science has demonstrated that an increased rate of growth is not a good thing. The slower a child grows, the slower he or she ages. Slower growth, taking longer to reach maturity, is predictive of a longer life in animal studies. We are finding the same thing in humans: an unnaturally rapid growth and premature puberty are risk factors for cancers and other diseases later in life. Evidence continues to mount that these same factors leading to early maturity and excessive growth in childhood increase the occurrence of cancer in general, not just breast and prostate cancer. Excluding malnutrition or serious disease, the slower we grow and mature, the longer we live.
Humans, like other primates, are designed to consume a diet predominating in natural plant foods with their symphony of essential phytochemicals. Fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, raw nuts and seeds should form the foundation of normal nutrition. Food preferences and tastes are formed early in life and children learn to eat the diets eaten by their parents.
Conclusion
When you have a child, you have the unique opportunity to mold a developing person. One of your greatest gifts to them can be a disease resistant body created from excellent food choices beginning at youth. Ear infections, strep throats, allergies, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADD or ADHD), and even autoimmune diseases can be prevented by sound nutritional practices early in life. Common childhood illnesses are not only avoidable, but they're more effectively managed by incorporating nutritional excellence into one’s diet. This is far superior to the dependence on drugs to which we are accustomed. No parent would disagree that our children deserve only the best.
If you are a parent, you may want to follow this course of action:
Read my book, Disease-Proof Your Child, as a source of sound nutritional information.
Submit your questions in the “Ask The Doctor” forum on the website
Interact with other members in our online support system.
These steps are designed to assist parents in the challenges of raising a healthy child in our world of insane eating habits and toxic food choices.
http://www.drfuhrman.com/children/default.aspx
1-800-474-WELL (9355)
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Children's Health IssuesDisease-proof your child!
Spotlight on Children's Health Issues
This section is a preview of my latest book entitled Disease-Proof Your Child:
We are molded by our childhood
"When our son Elliot was three, we already had a sickly child. He was suffering from his seventh ear infection and had severe eczema since his first year of life. We had been to numerous specialists for his raw itchy skin and tried many medical treatments to no avail. My search for a better solution led me to Dr. Fuhrman. In only two months after changing Elliot’s diet his skin condition had disappeared. To our surprise he never suffered another ear infection. It is not merely Elliot’s recovery that has moved us to write to you, it is our enthusiasm and gratitude for the knowledge we have gained from you that has given us an incredible sense of freedom and control over our own and our children’s health."
Julie and Stuart Rayburn
As parents, we want what is best for our children. We would never intentionally harm them. In fact, we make sure to get them the best care we know, read to them at bedtime and insist they wear their seatbelts, but when it comes to children and food, somehow we don’t know what is the best thing to do. Our children seem finicky and only eat cheese, pasta, chicken fingers or milk and cookies. At the same time, we notice that they are frequently ill. They suffer from recurring ear infections, runny noses, stomachaches and headaches. We note their symptoms and haul them in to the doctor, who prescribes yet another round of antibiotics. All this is normal for children —right?
Wrong!This scenario may be “normal” for kids today, but it is not normal for humans or any other species of animal that eats nutrient-rich natural foods designed by nature for that particular species. Scientific research has demonstrated that humans have a powerful immune system, even stronger than other animals. Our bodies are self-repairing, self-defending organisms, which have the innate ability to defend themselves against microbes and prevent chronic illnesses. This can only happen if we give our bodies the correct raw materials. When we don’t supply the young body with its nutritional requirements, we see bizarre diseases occur. We even witness the increasing appearance of cancers that were unheard of in prior human history.
Despite our very best intentions, today there are dangers that well-meaning parents inflict on their children without even being aware of it. Certainly, people like you and me would never mean to do anything other than the best for our children, but every day in small ways, we may well be causing harm to their precious little bodies. How does this happen? Through the choices we make every day in what we decide to feed them.
There is an issue of vital importance that most well-meaning parents don’t know about. They don’t know because nobody has told them. The issue is this: the modern diet that most children are eating today creates a fertile cellular environment for cancer to emerge at a later age. Trying to prevent breast, prostate and other cancers as an adult may not be possible because most risk factors cannot be changed at this late stage. The bottom line is that in order to have a major impact, we must intervene much earlier, even as early as the first seven years of life. In other words, childhood diets create adult cancers. That’s right: when our children don’t eat fruits and vegetables and instead are fed junk food, the groundwork may be laid for cancer and other diseases down the road.
The science behind these surprising statements is addressed in my book, Disease Proof your Child. This website section will only touch the tip of the iceberg. However, worth noting is the following dismal fact: many children today are very often recurrently sick with ear infections, allergies, asthma and then, later in life, may develop autoimmune illnesses such as lupus, ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis. This is not because children just naturally pass around germs or have bad genes, but it is because their diets are inadequate. Antibiotics cannot prevent these problems. Only a diet of nutritional excellence can.
The most recent scientific evidence is both overwhelming and shocking. Apparently, what we feed or don’t feed our children during the growing years has a greater impact on the dietary contribution to cancers than does nutritional intake over the next 50 years. Today, it is known that both children of American descent and from developed countries consume less than 2% of their diet from natural plant foods such as fruits and vegetables. American children move into adulthood eating 90% of their calories from dairy products, white flour, sugar and oil. Amazingly, about 25% of toddlers between ages one and two eat no fruits and vegetables at all. By 15 months, French fries are the most common vegetable consumed in America! Have parents gone crazy?
This is shocking information, to be sure, but recent scientific evidence is just too powerful and compelling to ignore. Over the past two decades convincing evidence has emerged which links autoimmune illnesses, such as Crohn’s Disease, lupus and later-life cancers with precise dietary factors from the first ten years of life. This means that we now know what factors help to create an environment in our bodies which is favorable for cancers to surface later in life, and we understand the precise dietary factors that can prevent cancer in our child’s future. The worst part is that parents haven’t been informed that what their children eat in the first ten years of life has such a profound effect on their entire lives.
Autoimmune diseases, such as childhood onset diabetes, lupus, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease can develop as a result of feeding errors early in life and can cause more tragic health problems. Without the necessary knowledge, detailing the dietary style that can prevent later life cancers, many parents are unfortunately feeding their children dangerous, cancer-provoking diets.
My goal is to provide priceless information to parents, so they can give their children the greatest gift of all — the opportunity for a long and healthy life. We wouldn’t allow our children to sit around the table smoking cigars and drinking whiskey, because it is not socially acceptable; however, we don’t think twice about giving them cola, fries cooked in trans fat and cheeseburgers, regularly. Many children consume soft drinks, doughnuts, cookies, cupcakes and candy on a daily basis. It is difficult for parents to understand the insidious, slow destruction of their child’s genetic potential and the foundation for serious illness that is being built by the consumption of these foods. Most Americans don’t even contemplate that drinking soda, and eating chips, junk food and fast-food meals may be just as risky (or more so) than letting their children smoke cigarettes.
It would be unrealistic to feel optimistic about the health and well-being of the next generation when there is an unprecedented increase in the average weight of children in this country and record levels of childhood obesity. Most ominous were the results reported by the 1992 Bogalusa Heart Study, which studied autopsies performed on children killed in accidental deaths. The study confirmed the existence of fatty plaques and streaks (the beginning of atherosclerosis) in most children and teenagers!
For the majority of their lives, many American adults and children consume foods that are severely deficient in plant-derived nutrients. I have observed these nutrient levels in thousands of patients and have become shocked at the dismal levels in supposedly “healthy” people. Our bodies are not immune to immutable biological laws that govern cellular function. Given enough time, disease will develop. Even borderline deficiencies can result in various subtle defects in human health, leading to anxiety, autoimmune disorders, cancer and poor eyesight, just to name a few.
The Development of Breast Cancer – A Childhood Event
Carcinogenesis, the process that leads to cancer, is believed to occur in a series of steps. It is a multistage process that begins with pre-cancerous cellular damage that gradually proceeds to more malignant changes. The first step is the development of cellular abnormalities, which eventually leads to cancer. This usually occurs during adolescence or soon after puberty. Remember that unhealthful childhood nutritional practices cause excessive sex hormone production and early pathologic changes in the breast tissue that set the stage for cancer many years later.
Studies have shown that the arrival of puberty at an earlier age is a significant marker of increased risk. Furthermore, there is overwhelming evidence that ovarian hormones play a crucial role, in all stages, in the development of breast cancer. It is common knowledge among physicians that the earlier a woman matures, as measured by the age of her first menstrual period, the higher her risk for breast cancer. Both early menarche and greater body weight are markers of increased risk of breast cancer.
Ominously, the onset of menstruation has been occurring at a younger and younger age in Western societies during this century. For example, the average age in the United States is now about twelve years; however, according to the World Health Organization, the average age at which puberty began in 1840 was seventeen. In addition, during the same time period, there has been an increased consumption of fat, refined carbohydrates, cheese and meat, and there has been a huge decrease in the consumption of starchy plants, beans, fruit and nuts. A greater consumption of animal foods leads to a higher level of hormones related to early reproductive function and growth. These hormonal abnormalities persist into adulthood. Uterine fibroids (or tumors) also develop from a diet deficient in fruits and vegetables and heavy in cheese and meat. As the consumption of meat increases and vegetation decreases, one’s risk of fibroids increases proportionately.
Women are not the only sex affected. The same increased risk, as a result of early maturation, is seen with both prostate cancer and testicular cancer. If we grow and mature more rapidly, we increase our cancer risk and age faster. We see the same pattern in lab animals; if we feed them so they grow faster, they age rapidly, develop cancer and die younger.
In other words, the stage is set by our poor dietary habits early in life. Breast and prostate cancer are strongly affected by our dietary practices when we are young.
Fewer Animal Products, More Fruits and Vegetables
We have been indoctrinated since early childhood to believe that animal protein is a nutrient to be held in high esteem. We have been brought up with the idea that these foods are good for us if they help us grow bigger and faster. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The public, as well as the media, is confused about this issue. They continue to associate the term better nutrition with earlier maturity and larger stature resulting from our greater consumption of animal protein and animal fats. These unfavorable trends are repeatedly reported as positive events. For example, earlier writers and nutritionists have mistakenly equated rapid growth with health. Science has demonstrated that an increased rate of growth is not a good thing. The slower a child grows, the slower he or she ages. Slower growth, taking longer to reach maturity, is predictive of a longer life in animal studies. We are finding the same thing in humans: an unnaturally rapid growth and premature puberty are risk factors for cancers and other diseases later in life. Evidence continues to mount that these same factors leading to early maturity and excessive growth in childhood increase the occurrence of cancer in general, not just breast and prostate cancer. Excluding malnutrition or serious disease, the slower we grow and mature, the longer we live.
Humans, like other primates, are designed to consume a diet predominating in natural plant foods with their symphony of essential phytochemicals. Fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, raw nuts and seeds should form the foundation of normal nutrition. Food preferences and tastes are formed early in life and children learn to eat the diets eaten by their parents.
Conclusion
When you have a child, you have the unique opportunity to mold a developing person. One of your greatest gifts to them can be a disease resistant body created from excellent food choices beginning at youth. Ear infections, strep throats, allergies, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADD or ADHD), and even autoimmune diseases can be prevented by sound nutritional practices early in life. Common childhood illnesses are not only avoidable, but they're more effectively managed by incorporating nutritional excellence into one’s diet. This is far superior to the dependence on drugs to which we are accustomed. No parent would disagree that our children deserve only the best.
If you are a parent, you may want to follow this course of action:
Read my book, Disease-Proof Your Child, as a source of sound nutritional information.
Submit your questions in the “Ask The Doctor” forum on the website
Interact with other members in our online support system.
These steps are designed to assist parents in the challenges of raising a healthy child in our world of insane eating habits and toxic food choices.
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